Measure of a Man
by Hairibo
Summary: Ponyboy always knew he could get separated from his brothers and they the same. But when the Vietnam War calls Darry and Soda to the battlefront and Pony has to go live with strangers, how in the world does he cope? Story collaborated on.
1. Dropping the Bomb

Title: Measure of a Man  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genres: Drama and Angst  
  
Disclaimer: We obviously don't own the characters of The Outsiders, and we certainly don't own Clay Aiken or the rights to his CD or the title of his song/CD. We're just borrowing it, because it fits. All we own is the idea, the plot, and anything or anyone else who might just pop up now and then.  
  
A/N: Hey everyone. This is a new story from both Alli and Keira. There isn't a whole lot to say at this point except that this one is going to be a doosy. It'll be long and it'll be heart wrenching, just to forewarn you. No girls in this one, isn't that a relief? Lol. Anyway, um, yeah...enjoy it because we've had fun planning it!  
  
-- Keira and Alli  
  
~*~  
  
(Darry's POV)  
  
From the time the mail came, I was busy. I don't know if I've ever had a more stressful day. First it was this line at this building, then another across town. They kept sending me to different places and I just wanted it to be over with. When I finished running all the errands and settling things, a deep disappointment had settled on me. How could this be happening? I made my way home through the lunch hour traffic and paced the front room till it drove me crazy.  
  
After that, I spent the entire day cleaning the house till I couldn't clean any longer. The constant thoughts running through my mind kept me from any kind of relaxation. The thought of telling Pony this was weighing on me heavily, and staying still seemed to make it worse. It was going to break him, he wouldn't do too well. So, because I couldn't keep still I kept cleaning, trying to concentrate on scrubbing the floors and walls so I didn't think of the look on his face.  
  
It was hours of cleaning, first it started with just picking things up, but soon it was scrubbing the floors, dusting, washing walls, straightening pictures, cleaning windows, washing dishes, and anything else I could think of. By the time I was finished it was like we had a full time maid employed. It wasn't half bad. I hoped it stayed like that for awhile. At least until our visitors had come and gone.  
  
It seemed like forever before Pony walked in from school, and by that time, I was working on the bills. They would have to be done within the next week, or there would be hell to pay.  
  
"Hi, Darry," he sighed and threw his backpack on the floor near the couch. He watched it bounce a few feet then came over near the kitchen to find something to eat like he did everyday. He had this new routine, but I could tell something was irking him. He was really readable these days. "What're you doing?"  
  
"Bills," I responded, scribbling a few more numbers on a scratch piece of paper before putting it down. "What's going on?"  
  
He ignored me for a few minutes while he dug out some bread and lunch meat. His coach was always on his back about keeping up his weight and strength for the next season. Ever since he made the football team last fall he had gained a good thirty or forty pounds in muscle and his confidence had boosted quite a bit. He was having fewer encounters with the Socs and was making more friends with them. He was always telling Soda and me that he never wanted to consider himself a Soc or anything like them. He was too much of a greaser at heart to want that. I told him I would be more than happy for him to go in that direction, although at this point in his life it didn't seem very likely. I was proud of him, not because he was playing football, but because he had done a spectacular job of moving on from the events of the last few years and was focusing more on what he could do to make himself more well liked at school.  
  
He closed the refrigerator door with his foot and moved over to the counter. "You know Mr. Dalstup decided to throw a pop test at us today? Not a pop *quiz* a pop *test*. What the hell is with that?" He always had something to say about that teacher. From what I've gathered he's a pretty selfish prick, but there wasn't much you could do about that.  
  
"He didn't tell you about it?"  
  
"No!" He unscrewed the mustard jar. "Fuckin' bastard wanted to know how well we've been paying attention."  
  
"And how did you do?"  
  
"How do you think? I've been absent the last three days," – he had been out with the stomach flu – "how the hell do you think I did?" He scraped some mustard onto a slice of bread and finished making his sandwich. He took the fixings back to the fridge and pulled out some leftover pork chops. "It's the first of the semester too. This is the only thing on my grade. Coach is going to bench me."  
  
"Well, it's a good thing it's off season, huh?" I almost smiled when his face changed from angry to one of dawning realization and then back to smoldering. I felt bad that he was upset and that his teacher had punished him for something that wasn't his fault, but at that moment it was the least of my worries. He wasn't going to have to worry about it either, come a while. Nope, he wasn't going to be concerned with any of that come a few weeks. None of it.  
  
"Still... My GPA is crap now because of it." He came and sat down across from me at the table. He knew how little I liked him eating anywhere else, especially when the house was freshly cleaned. He was taking in the sight of it all, even going as far as to run his finger along the window sill behind him. It came up clean. "How come it's clean in here?"  
  
"Because," I looked back down at the bills, "houses are supposed to be clean."  
  
"And...?"  
  
"And because we might have some social workers coming by sometime."  
  
"Since when? They just came, like a month ago." He shoved a chunk of pork in his mouth. "Wh – ey – doin – at – fo?"  
  
I finished configuring the bill and set it aside. I was ready to lay everything out for him and he was asking, I couldn't possibly delay this any longer. Starting was going to the difficult part. It wasn't everyday that you had to tell your little dependant brother that his life was about to take a drastic change. For the better or worse was still to be decided.  
  
I looked at him and crossed my arms, leaning back in my chair. He gave me the Two-Bit-made-famous eyebrow raise and paused. "What?"  
  
"Pon, you remember me and Soda talking about possibly being drafted at sometime?" He knew perfectly well what I was talking about. Soda and I had discussed this on several occasions. We knew it was a very real possibility, and we had even set to make arrangements for all the reasons we wouldn't have to go. Or that at least I wouldn't have to leave. But I had signed up to be called when I was eighteen and he did the same. It was only a matter of time before it happened to us. And the feds weren't budging.  
  
"Yeah. So what? You haven't been yet. What's the big deal?"  
  
"No, Pony, that's the thing." I leaned forward now, making eye contact, and making sure he knew I wasn't playing with him. "We got our notices today."  
  
He started to cough as he choked on his un-chewed food. He pounded himself on the chest and cleared his airway. "What?" he gasped out before collapsing into another coughing fit.  
  
I nodded and sat back up straight.  
  
"We leave in two weeks."  
  
He swallowed. "You too? You said that --"  
  
"Me too," I interrupted him. "I tried to get all that jazz worked out, but they won't hear it. I told them that there are special circumstances now and I couldn't go, but they don't see it the same way." None of the people I talked to say eye to eye with me on the matter. "I talked to the social workers and they said that...they said you going to go...well, if we can't find someone to take you around here, like Mrs. Mathews they you'll... most likely being going to live in a foster home."  
  
"A what?" he nearly whispered. His tone had grown to one of silent pleading. "Why?"  
  
I shrugged. "That's all we know right now. I'll talk to Two-Bit's mom, but I can't promise much."  
  
~*~  
  
Pony had since taken refuge in his room. He didn't have the desire to carry on the conversation and I wasn't going to push it. I knew what was going through his mind, the possibility of going away and probably what I was thinking. I was feeling extremely uneasy about the situation myself. I had the same thought going through my mind a million mile a hour. This was the Vietnam War. The majority of the people who went didn't come back alive. 


	2. Downtroddened

Hey people! We're back! Okay, here's an explanation to y'all about well...everything, considering we forgot that last time.  
  
About the whole Darry going to war thing...don't jump soo fast to conclusions. In the next few chapters it will all come together, it does make sense. At the current time it doesn't make sense, its not supposed to, but it will in due time, so relax. Give it a try and it all comes together.  
  
About the going to war, I've sent people off to war, so don't talk to me about that one. No matter what the chances of someone coming back, it's still hard to send them off. War is brutal, unpredictable and dangerous, so no matter what, your first thought, thanks to lovely human nature, is that your loved one might come home in a box. Think about it, its war. And that whole thing was to Iraq, this is to Vietnam where the circumstances were a lot different. Trust me, they would feel this way.  
  
Now to Review Responses!  
  
Skye Renegarde: That's true! Thanks. We are going for original, meaning we haven't seen it here before. Here's more for you to read!  
  
Kix: That's right, no more girls. That was a definite one timer, so deal with it. Just FYI, this story shall be very interesting. How many originals can you come up with in which they are all happy and together? This is one of the many stories that we will write, and one of the very few where they would be split up. But truthfully, haven't you ever wondered how Pony would take being split apart form his brothers? We sure have, and this is merely our view of it.  
  
Tens – From Alli: You make me sooo happy! Us happy, that is. LOL. It is hypothetical, thank you, but people jump to conclusions too fast. You are sooo nice to me though, thanks. Thank you for helping me out, and no worries, we aren't changing the story line. So be happy. ( Well, see ya later. Here's your much anticipated chapter that I am putting up just for you.  
  
Tens – From Keira: Hey girl! How's it shakin? We are soo lucky to have you reading this. You're opinion means the world to us. You know that too. I finally got Alli to finish this, nice huh? (No comment to that last sentence. LOL. I was slow. Can you believe her? HAHA) Now more waiting, hoorah! And I am itching to begin chapter three, so hopefully you wont have to wait much longer. (Yeah right! LOL. JK)  
  
Cloudburst2000: We appreciate your support. This is story is just out of curiosity, but wait, there is a reason behind the whole Darry thing. Wait a few chapters before you jump too far on that one. Keep reading, we think you'll enjoy what we have in store. Thanks again!  
  
Shyxshortiexbabe: Thank you soo much. Here is the second chapter. Keep reading. Thanks!  
  
Jesso: Sweetheart, just PLEASE spell Vietnam right next time. It's NOT Viet Nam. Another thing, have you ever taken a US History, or did you just not pay attention in it? And if by chance you aren't from America, Im not sure you realize the full extent of what they went through. It's called a geurilla war, and many Americans died. That's why Vietnam veterans are heroes today, hun. And you do realize you contradicted yourself on that one? I sure hope so. If you are reading, you should have read the authors note, because we don't to reexplain it, if you havent, Im referring you to it now. Don't jump to conclusions after one chapter, it makes you look like an idiot. And how is it that you think Darry wouldn't let Pony swear? One, he lives with how many people that cuss every other word, and Two, how many times did Pony say in the book "I cussed" or "I swore"? Maybe he wouldn't have let him swear at the age of fourteen, but he's older now, and he cant stop him. Also considering the circumstances, I doubt that Darry is all that worried about lecturing Pony about a swear word. Overly melodramatic, Huh? Yeah, well, so was your review. I guarantee it wont be that bad, so eat it.  
  
Oblivious Misconception: Heart wrenching? Yes. Over dramatic and disgustingly sad? No. Yes, they have a few rough weeks ahead of them, but they will make it okay. You'll see in this chapter just how things are thought of by dear Soda, and hopefully it won't make things worse in your minds eye. Thank you for reading. We do appreciate all your support.  
  
JuliannaGrl: You thought of Vietnam too, huh? Sweet. You'd be surprised at how many people don't make such connections. We're happy to have a reader from another country, this is cool.  
  
Sodapop02: Thanks for the complements. We are glad you like it. Keep reading, and we KNOW you will be glad you did! Ciao.  
  
Now on to the story:  
  
Chapter Two Soda's POV  
  
The cold day had finally come to an end when the last old man pulled out before the newbie came on for his third shift. I gave him instructions and left quickly, my stomach growling at the thought of warm food in the oven at home.  
  
I ran home, not having a car and not caring to feel the wintery wind blasting in my face any longer than necessary. It was nearly snowing outside, more like sleet I guess you could say, and too cold for my liking. I had a coat, but that hardly kept out the wind or the wet.  
  
By the time I reached the door to our house, a frozen ice block, I could hardly open the door as my hands were tightened balls of grease, but somehow I was able to open it up eventually.  
  
I walked into the door to see Darry slouching in his armchair talking on the phone. He seemed pretty frustrated, stress lines stretched across his forehead as he weaved a pen in and around his fingers the way only a good jock can do. He glanced up at me as I walked in, his expression changing very little in my presence. He stretched out his arm to the table next to him and picked up a letter, flinging it at me so it flew threw the air like an ax to a tree. I caught it, looking at the address. Great, it was not what I wanted. No wonder he wasn't happy. I wondered if he got one too, but decided to read first, he was busy.  
  
I sat down on the couch opposite him, and he followed my every move with his eyes. He seemed apprehensive, but just a bit, like he was thinking, wandering how I would take this. He didn't seem too worried though, more interested and distracted with only one thing to follow, that thing being me. Apperently he had been put on hold by that time.  
  
As he looked back down at the note pad in his lap, he sat up and started talking, well, more like arguing with the person on the line, "No, you don't understand..." he sighed, "Yes, I'm aware of that. What you don't seem to understand is that things have changed and there are other things to consider now. Namely..." He stopped suddenly, "Yes, but make it snappy, please!" he tried to keep his voice even, but it didn't work.  
  
I tuned out about that time, leaving Darry to do whatever it was he was doing. Slowly I opened the letter and started reading. The more I read, the more real it became. I was going to war, to go kill people in a hot, humid jungle on the other side of the world.  
  
My hands gradually started shaking, only slightly, but enough that the paper I was holding was trembling also. I stared at it coolly, set it down in my lap and continued staring more. It wasn't a surprise, really, I knew I would be drafted at one point or another, but now it was real. This was really going to happen, and as much as I thought I had been ready for it, the news hit me hard. I didn't want to go to war, I liked my life here and now, I didn't want it destroyed. It didn't matter how much I had prepared for the moment, there was nothing that cold have made it easier. It was like the brick had finally hit my head, after hovering above it for ages. I knew it would happen, but I couldn't prepare for it.  
  
Focusing in on a black, greasy fingerprint left by one of my half frozen fingers on the paper in my lap, I stopped seeing all around me and crawled deeper into myself. I wondered if I would ever come back to this life, if it would ever be the same. Would I leave to never see my friends and family again? Or would I be like the many blue collars who I had known to come home in coffins to a grieving family and a little more than slightly remorseful nation? They were all questions I knew couldn't be answered yet. They would be answered when I came back home, whether in a wheelchair, broken and battered, in a coffin, or on my own two moving feet. I hoped the latter held true, but the nagging in my mind shot red flags into the air, telling me it might not be true and I should fear for it.  
  
That was when the thought of Pony hit me. What about him? How would he take this? If Darry was called too, which sounded to be the case but in all likely-hood couldn't be, what would happen, where would he go? I suspected that he had heard by then. Darry had to have told him when he got home. The fact that he was no where to be seen told me I was right on that one, but then again, he could just be doing homework and avoiding the grumpy older brother in the house.  
  
My stomach grumbled loudly, reminding me once again of my hunger. I thought it was Pony's day to make dinner, and I knew by the look, feel and smell of things that there wasn't a scrap of food cooking. So I was right, Darry had told Pony, and Pony was upset. If he hadn't been told, he would be making dinner, especially with Darry being like he was from what I could tell. Besides, he ate like the rest of us did, like a horse. He would be making dinner for himself if no one else. But Pony was probably lost in some book of his, avoiding the outside world for everything it was worth, and I couldn't blame him.  
  
I was about to get up and go find him, but never made it out of my seat. I wasn't exactly over the shock of the whole thing myself, but Pon would take it hard, harder than me at least. One of his greatest fears was to lose us, for us to leave him. He feared everyday of his life the possibility of losing the only family he had left.  
  
I would have made it to him had it not been for Darry's slightly distracting action of yelling a, "Fuck you too!" and slamming the phone down to the hook and continuing to throw the entire device to the floor with a bang, bringing me out of my trance of deep thought and shock.  
  
Looking at Darry, who had dropped his pen to the floor, and was now tapping a clenched fist on the arm of his chair, I asked, "Who was that?"  
  
He looked up to me, shaking his head in frustration. "No one that could help me. Idiots at the draftee's office, they're worthless."  
  
I nodded my head. I knew then that he had been drafted, and apparently no one seemed to care about Ponyboy or the fact that Darry was his only guardian. Maybe they just thought it was an excuse, but you'd think they would look into it at least. I mean, this was just wrong, Darry had every right under the sun to stay home, and they wouldn't hear him out.  
  
"So...you got drafted?" I was asking the obvious, I know. But I wanted to make sure I wasn't assuming the wrong.  
  
"Yeah, and it doesn't make any sense, let me tell you right now. I went down to the office to see if I could get going on the exemption process, but they told me flat out that Im going. Apperently, it doesn't matter. I accepted it then, it seemed screwed up, but there wasn't anything I thought I could do about it. But ya know, the more I think on it, the more it seems to be wrong to me. It doesn't make sense, it can't be right. I'll even higher a lawyer, not that we have the money, but this is wrong. Flat out wrong."  
  
"Well, yeah. I don't see how they can make you go, Dar. They have to have something on record about this, and they wont make you go." I was sure it would all get worked out, that he wouldn't end up going, and everything would be fine. At least for him and Pony. I hated to go myself, but at least the both of us wouldn't be shipped off to a foreign country. Pony had to have one of us home, for his sake and life.  
  
"I'm going to let it go till tomorrow. I'll go down there and won't leave till it's taken care of. Or I have a plan to fight it. Tonight, I've got to finish up the bills. What do you want for dinner? I don't think Pony's going to come make it." Darry went back to doing the bills in his lap, listening for my answer. He didn't seem to really care that Pony wasn't making dinner even though it was his turn. He knew he would take it hard, and although he would normally be grumpy about something like that, he really didn't care at that point. I understood why, completely, but it almost miffed me because I was starving.  
  
"Whatever, Darry. Anything'll do." I got up and started for my room. I had nothing more to say or ask. I didn't know what to do, other than go talk to Pony and jump in the shower if I couldn't eat.  
  
I made my way back to our room, dragging my feet. I was tired, hungry, still cold, and overall, just drained. I had no idea what to think of this all, I was going to go to war and I couldn't kid myself anymore. I never thought it would be this hard, but it was just so....overwhelming to think about.  
  
As I walked past the phone I thought about stopping and calling Steve, I wondered if he had been drafted that day to. I doubted it, but he would be going soon, we had both been waiting for this.  
  
To my surprise, though, I didn't stop to call him. My feet kept moving in the direction of my room as I knew deep down that Pony was much more important. I could call Steve when I was done taking care of my little brother.  
  
Pony was sitting with his back on the headboard of the bed, his legs stretched out. He was reading a book, one of his all time favorites. It was one of those books he got so into that he couldn't put it down, and it bugged the hell out of all of us when he read it because he got so caught up in it he rarely responded to you until you jumped on him.  
  
I didn't say anything when I first walked in, just threw my dirty shirt to the floor on my side of the bed and sat down tearing off my shoes.  
  
"Hey, Pon."  
  
Surprisingly, he looked up immediately, like he knew I was there all along. "Hey, Soda."  
  
He tried to ignore me and looked back down to his book, but I had other plans. I wanted to talk to him, he was the type that needed to talk about things to get them off his chest, and this was one thing he couldn't keep sealed up inside.  
  
"So...you feeling okay, kid?" I was hoping that I might get something out of him, open it up, but instead he just shrugged me off and went back to his book.  
  
"You sure? You don't seem like it..." I pried a bit further.  
  
He didn't say anything, he was really trying to avoid the subject, so I jumped right into it, he couldn't run if I didn't beat around the bush.  
  
"Pon...I know Darry told you...and well...Geez, I cant believe this is happening." I hoped that would get him to open up with out forcing him to. I didn't want to force him. Maybe I if I made it seem like I wanted or needed to talk about it then he would, for my sake.  
  
He looked up slowly, a bit surprised at my directness, I guess.  
  
"It cant be that bad, can it? I mean, it wont be that long and..." he trailed off, running out of other good things to say about it.  
  
"Pony...its war...war is always bad. But hey, Darry wont be going, he's going to go straighten that out tomorrow." I had to offer some hope to him.  
  
"He said he was going tho."  
  
"Yeah, well, I don't think he wanted to get your hopes up, kid. He shouldn't have to go though, there has to be exemptions, and I'm sure this is one." I reached up and patted him on his back, smiling a bit.  
  
"I sure hope so. Who wants to go live with a bunch of fuckin' strangers?" He didn't add a bunch of emotion, but he really did feel that way, I knew.  
  
I chuckled at him. Shoot, I understood that. I didn't want him living with strangers either.  
  
We sat there for a minute, silently. Pony didn't go back to reading his book, but instead was thinking hard from the expression on his face. I would have just gotten up to go shower and left it at that, but Pony looked like he had something he might want to say, and I was going to leave the door open for him to say it if he wanted. I came in here to talk, and if he wanted to now, I wasn't stopping him.  
  
"Soda?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"So...you're going to war...doesn't that kinda scare you? I mean...shoot, I'd be going out of my mind!"  
  
"Sure it scares me. I have to go kill people, Pony. But it's all right. It'll be an adventure." I at least had to be optimistic in front of him, or try to be. And the truth be told, I was hoping if I kept telling myself that, it would ring true to me at some point in time. Preferably before I made it to the battle front.  
  
"Well, it's not like you won't be coming back or anything." He said almost confidently.  
  
I bit my lip at that. Would I really have to tell this to him? It didn't seem right that I had to tell him that I might not come back, I was barely facing the possibility myself. Should I even bring that up? But I had to, he had to face it before I left, he had to know. That was how it was, and even if he didn't believe it, or want to believe it, he had to face it for his own good.  
  
"Pony....I don't know. It's war...people die in war, and it doesn't take much. I mean, there's a chance, and I'll do my best to stay out of trouble, but you never know. Sometimes there isn't anything you can do, sometimes things just happen and no one knows when they will."  
  
He shrugged it off, "You'll come back." He said so confidently that there was no room for argument. I almost laughed, but knew that was no the time to be laughing at him. I knew he had to face it, but until then he had a little time. A few weeks at least, he would come around to it eventually, but it had to hit him first. Then again, I thought he was probably putting on a front. He knew the truth, he was just trying to talk himself into a lie he thought would be better suited for him in life. Couldn't blame him there. 


	3. Wild Goose Chase

A/n: Hello everyone! First we want to thank everyone for reading. Those of you who write reviews make this very much worth our time. We appreciate all that you say. We also want to let you guys know that this chapter might be the final one to turn a few you away. Hopefully that isn't the case. There are some readers who are very unhappy with the idea of what is going to come (you all know what we're talking about – it's in the summary). If you have a problem, just don't read it. It's as simple as that.  
  
On to the review responses!  
  
Catherine Ace: Yeah, it does seem logical, doesn't it? Luckily Alli was smart enough to make such connections. She was pretty thrilled and I can tell you as much. You're right, OCs can be either a good or bad thing. In this one they are both. You'll see what we mean. And actually, there might be some hippies – of course they would be only backdrop characters; wouldn't be in much – but you can anticipate one or two.  
  
shyXshortieXbabe: Makes this seem realistic? Thanks! That's what we're going for, although some people don't' see it in that light. Oh well, it's their loss. Yes, there is still some hope for Pony, but don't get your hopes up too high. Don't forget the summary. There's a bit of a struggle ahead.  
  
Karlei Shaynner: (Keira speaking) I love Soda too. He's my baby. You'll love him in this too, we hope, but we're not going to lie to you, he's not going to be make a regular appearance. Of course we'll hear from both of him and Darry, but maybe not as often as you're hoping for. This fic is going to focus mainly on Pony. Hope you like this chapter!  
  
FUDDYDUDDY: Wow. You are by FAR our favorite person right now! We can't even being to touch base on how much your review means to us. And your hubby agrees this is all possible? Woah, lol. That is really cool. We've tried to hard to accomplish that bit. We can't believe that someone, like him who would know, thinks this is good. Be sure to thank him for us. Maybe that'll help to put some of our flamers in their place. Can you believe that people who have no idea what there are talking about would act like they do? Anyway, we hope this chapter isn't too far-fetched or risqué. But remember that this is fiction and we can do whatever we like, right? Lol. We're always open to any suggestions or insights that either of you may have. Thank you so much!  
  
Aoki: Not believable? What would you consider believable? Dumb? Hey, that's your opinion and you are entitled to it. But of course we also love how you so conveniently didn't sign in or don't have an account for us to go and look at stories to compare this to. Beware of who you are dealing with, bucko. We can guarantee that we have both been reading and writing for longer than you have, by the sound of it. And we hate to break the news to you, Sweetheart, but reality is that this is entirely possible and we can call it an Outsiders' fic if even one of the gang is in it. So don't go there. Don't be so stupid. And at least try and use correct grammar next time. Then we'll give you time to talk.  
  
DaNNi BaBezZz: We're so happy that you like it! We felt like it would be fun and pretty original. So thanks! The reality is just starting to hit Soda, you're right, but you'll just have to wait and see the rest. Tahnks for R&Ring!  
  
Oblivious Misconception: Thanks! Keep reading. We hope you enjoy it.  
  
Skye Renegarde: Yeah, we are evil, huh? It's only going to get better. Keep reading. Thanks!  
  
Sodapop02: War is horrible and hard for families. I (Alli) have seen it first hand, but in all reality Soda would end up going, there is no way around it. Hope you enjoy!  
  
Tensleep: (Allison speaking) Haha – you can thank Keira for the quick update. She was "sick". (Keira—So I stayed home and wrote, hehe). You are too used to our long chapters, lol. We went a bit shorter this time. Yeah, we like the reactions too, duh – but it works so... I Think that those flamers finally realized (well, most of them) that we are right thanks to some help from good reviewers *cough*FUDDYDUDDY*cough* or they haven't come back. Not worries.  
  
Anyway, now on to chapter three! Hope you guys are happy with it.  
  
Chapter Three Darry's POV  
  
The next day I made my way to the draftees office. I was feeling confident about the outcome and I knew that no matter whichever way they looked at our situation, there wasn't any way they could send me out. I had my papers of guardianship over Ponyboy and that would be enough. They couldn't send me out with a dependant kid on my hands. Even strict army guidelines would find that unethical. There wasn't a thing we could do for Soda, or even Steve and Two-Bit, but I had every right to be down there fighting to stay. I couldn't leave. I would, if it weren't for Pony. I'd be proud to go, but that wasn't going to happen with him around. I didn't want it to happen with him around.  
  
Now I was waiting in a line behind two men. That frightened me a bit, because they were calling for the next person one right after the other. When I had gotten there, about five minutes before, I was at the end of a line a mile long. I had anticipated being here for a few hours before I got someone to talk to me – I prepared myself to wait around. However, it looked like this office wasn't being sympathetic. Sure, there's always beggars and posers wussing out, that was normal, but something told me that not the entire room was full of them. It would be all right though. They had every reason to listen to me and accept my case as a real one.  
  
I scanned the room behind me, not surprised to see that there were about thirty others there getting ready to plead their own cases. About half of them gave me the impression they were only there to please their wives. They stood back, arms crossed and waiting, some looking nearly bored to tears while they tried to entertain themselves with their neck and knuckle popping. They knew they were going out either way. I got the notion that they didn't have any real reason to be there. Their eyes said it all. Otherwise, they'd be looking just as worried as the others, who all were sweating bullets and muttering their planned out speeches to themselves. I felt like an outcast.  
  
"Next!" a young girl called to me. I snapped my head back around and saw her wagging her finger for me to come over. She was smacking some pink gum and it was sort of grossing me out.  
  
"Whatcha here for?" she drawled. She had the worst southern drawl out of anyone here that I knew. She may have been from downstate. She planted her chin in her open palm and stared up to me. She was a valley girl through and through and it wasn't the most attractive personality to be faced with. It surprised me to see someone like her working at a place like this, but she certainly looked old enough.  
  
I gave her my papers from my wallet claiming my guardianship over Pony. She took them and stared at them for a minutes – popping the gum inside her mouth – and then practically shoved them back in my face. "What are these?"  
  
"Erm, they're my legal documents stating that I have sole guardianship over my little brother. You see, I can't go because he's only –"  
  
"Can't take 'em," she cut me off.  
  
"What?" I was perplexed. What did she mean they couldn't take them? That was ridiculous.  
  
"Nope. You've gotta get your social worker to bring the files down here to finalize it. We can't take your copy. They might be fake." She handed them back to me and started to call for the next person. "Next!"  
  
"Wait!" I stopped her and held my hand back to stop the next guy from coming up from behind. "But, if I do get them brought down, I'm off the roster, right?"  
  
"Yeah." She gave me a strange look. "Duh."  
  
I held up my hands a little in defense of myself and left. I didn't want to hang around there any longer. I'd just take her word for it. I felt like a jerk anyway, standing there, begging to not serve for my country. So, the sooner I got it all over with, the better.  
  
Next stop, the state social services office. We were damn lucky to have one out here in Tulsa. I wouldn't be looking forward to driving all the way to Oklahoma City if there weren't. The truck was running low on gas anyway. Sadly enough, I didn't have to think twice about how to get there. We had made the trip down there so many times it was beginning to feel normal- like. And, even more sadly, it /I at this point in time.  
  
When inside I found myself facing a nice looking middle aged woman at the front desk. I had never seen her before. She must've been new. Her name tag read Nancy.  
  
"Why, hello, young man. How can I help you?" She smiled warmly at me which put me at ease. I hadn't realized how still with worry I was, until then.  
  
"Yeah, um, you see – I was drafted to go the war in two weeks, but I can't go now because I have stay here for my little brother. I've had guardianship over him for two years now and I suppose they didn't have my name taken off the list when that change took place. Because, well, I signed up when I was eighteen, but that was before any of this happened and..." I was surprised at my own nervousness. I always got nervous around older women. I felt like a hoodlum with no respect for my elders, even though I was wearing a suit and tie.  
  
"Now you can't go."  
  
"Yeah. I guess they need our social worker to bring down the files and get it confirmed."  
  
By the way she watched me when I talked, I knew this wasn't anything new to her and she knew exactly what to do about it. That made me feel a lot better and I took a deep breath, not realizing I had used up all of my breath throughout my talking. This wouldn't be hard at all.  
  
"Yes, sir, that's right. If you'll jot down your name and your brother's name on a piece of paper right there," – she pointed to a small box of scrap paper and little pencils – "I'll just take it on back and find those files. Now, I'm going to need you to stick around until we get everything all sorted out and taken care of. Then we can set up a time for you and your social worker to meet and take care of this together."  
  
"All right. That's fine by me. Thank you." I scribbled down our names as legibly as I could in my own self-hurry and gave it to her.  
  
She took it from me and went away down a hall to where I assumed the file rooms were. It seemed odd to stand around the desk, so in the meantime I took a seat on the couches provided off to one side of the room. There were magazines scattered on the table in the center of the squared couches. I found a Sports Illustrated and thumbed through it.  
  
Before long, Nancy returned and I scurried back to her desk.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Curtis, but we seem to have misplaced your files. Are you sure you got the legalities taken care of on your end?" She sat down.  
  
"Well, yeah. I have a copy with me if you'd like to see it." This was as bizarre as it gets, I guess. Pony would have a good laugh knowing what I've had to go through to keep from leaving. This would be a day we'd never forget.  
  
"That would be wonderful." I liked this lady. She was a lot nicer than the chick at draftees office. It was nice to have interaction with someone who was old enough to be your mother, anyway. The only other person I had this with was Mrs. Mathews, and I valued her input highly.  
  
I handed the papers to her and watched as she scanned them over. "These seem to be all right. Here," she set them down, "I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I need to call the office in Oklahoma City and ask them about making us another set of the hard copy. Did you hear about the crisis in the file room a few months back?"  
  
"No, can't say that I did." I wasn't sure where this was going but I wasn't going to let that stop her.  
  
"One of our interns lit up a cigarette back there, even though it's against policy, and the place burned up when she dropped it. The thing burnt her fingers and she was startled, I suppose. All the files were lost from the beginning of the alphabet up to half way through K. Anyway, the office out in Oklahoma had to send us copies of all the lost files. Apparently yours was misplaced in the transfer." She picked up the phone. "I'm terribly sorry about this. This is just awful..."  
  
"It's okay." I shrugged. As long as the federal copy existed somewhere, and they were going to get us the file, there wasn't nothing I was worried about. "I'm not in a hurry." Not anymore I wasn't. I'd stick around as long as I needed to.  
  
She smiled only now that the phone was ringing and waiting to be picked up on the other end. "Hello!" she cried sweetly to a familiar voice. "This is Nancy out in Tulsa – oh, I'm doing just fine thank you. Although, I do have a young man here whose files never made it down here." She looked up at me and smiled reassuringly. "Yes, another one. I don't know how this happened. What is this now? Five I think? Anyway, he's about to be sent to war – crying shame, isn't it? – and he needs some files to prove that he is the guardian of his brother. Is there a way to get their files up here by tomorrow?"  
  
I rocked back and forth on the balls of my feet waiting and wishing she'd cut out the chitchat. I wasn't going to be too picky though. This was our future in the hands of these two, or so it seemed.  
  
"That would be wonderful. Bless you, Delilah. His name is Darrel Curtis and his little brother... Ponyboy?" She placed a hand over the receiver. "It is Ponyboy, right?"  
  
"Yes." I smiled, realizing that that had to have thrown her off in the back room.  
  
"Yes, Ponyboy. That's all one word.... Yes, Ponyboy Michael Curtis and Darrel Shayne Curtis." She glanced at me to double check and I nodded. "Yes. I'll be right here. Thank you." She let the phone droop a little now that no one was on the other end for her to talk to. "This is quite an adventure, isn't it?"  
  
I chuckled. "Yeah, sure is." I couldn't place the exact cause, but I was back to being nervous again. That awful uneasiness sat hard in the bottom of my stomach. Hopefully this /I would be over before long. I'd stay until it was okay to leave, but I hadn't eaten since my lunch break and it was heading on six in the evening. I sure hoped someone was making dinner now.  
  
"Don't you worry about this now." I think she could tell I was losing my confidence in this all. I knew it would all work out fine, but that didn't stop me from worrying. "It'll be all right. They have the official files and they won't hesitate to make us a copy."  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"Oh, don't call me that. My name's Nancy." I just nodded in response.  
  
A moment later she was talking again to the woman on the other end. With the tone of her voice and the look etched on her face, there was something not right and I knew it right from the off. "No...! Is that even possible? Well, I reckon it is...but how did that happen?" She shot me a look of worry, but tried to cover it up. Didn't work. "Well, is there anywhere else it could be? Maybe under D for Darrel? Or P for Ponyboy?... Really?" She mouthed the words to me, 'She already looked'. "Are you sure? You double checked?... Did you get James to look as well?... Sam?... Oh dear.... All right then. We'll be getting back in touch with you about this real soon. Maybe even tonight. Most likely tomorrow.... No, not your fault, thank you for looking....Yup...Uh huh... Take care. Buh bye."  
  
My entire body went numb throughout the duration of that conversation. Without hearing both sides, I was aware enough to get the point that something was really seriously wrong. It sounded like the file was gone. I didn't want to even think about how that could happen. All I could think about was the present. What was this going to mean? When would they be able to retrieve the file? They /I retrieve it, right? It wasn't a lost cause or anything?  
  
"They don't have it?" I asked.  
  
"It doesn't seem like they do. Now, of course it's just been misplaced and they'll find it, but –"  
  
"But they don't have it now?" I cut her off, unintentionally. "When will they be able to find it?"  
  
"There's no real way of knowing. They could find it today or tomorrow. Or it might take them a few months." She swung her chair to the left and opened up a small filing cabinet underneath the desktop.  
  
"A few months?" I repeated. "But I need them now. If I don't show them to the army, they'll ship me out!" I wouldn't lose my cool, but if I got pushed far enough I might just.  
  
"That's not your only problem at hand," she sighed and looked back at me. She handed me a thick pile of papers stapled together. I had seen these before...back in the beginning of it all.  
  
"What?" My heart sunk considerably. What else could it mean? There's no way it could get worse than this.  
  
"Until they find the files, there's not even a single record that claims you are Ponyboy's guardian. The temps they gave you won't be enough to fight with in a court system."  
  
I stopped breathing. I wasn't all that sure what she meant exactly, but those two words, court system, were never welcoming. Never. "Court system?"  
  
She shook her head. "Without verifiable records, and until they can get you a trial, I can pretty much guarantee you that... Until we can get this worked legally they won't accept you as his guardian. Period."  
  
I almost started laughing. She had to be kidding. This was getting out of hand. It was a wild goose chase that wouldn't end. "So... He's not mine anymore? Is that what you're saying? I've got to go anyway?"  
  
"Not necessarily!" She quickly stopped me. "We're going to find out exactly how long it's going to take for this to get all figured out and then we'll see. You'll get him back, you can take my word for it. He'll even be able to live with you until then. Nothing will be changed, except you'll have to go through the court again if they aren't able to retrieve those lost files."  
  
"How do they lose files?"  
  
She shook her head. "It doesn't happen usually. This is the first time I know of that it's happened this year, at this office anyway. It's a terrible thing to have to restore copies of lost records for an entire section of the filing system. Things like this are bound to happen. But we have a good enough system going that we can work this out quickly."  
  
"How fast? I've got less than two weeks." I pointed out to her. They were shipping us out in eleven days. Was that going to give me enough time?  
  
"As soon as possible. We'll get one of our representatives to go down there and speak to the officers on your behalf. Don't fret." She smiled big. I nodded at a loss of anything else to say.  
  
Don't fret? You might as well tell a drug dealer that it wasn't certain that the cops were after them. Don't fret...  
  
~*~  
  
Hey guys. Mixed reactions? Mixed feelings? Let us know about them and review. Thanks you guys. 


	4. The Breakfast Club

Okay, I know it had been forever and a day plus one...but too bad! I have a hectic life, okay? I swear! Just ask...anyone who might know me. Anyway, sorry, hopefully the summer will go better, what with being out of school and all. Well, so here's a new chapter for you, enjoy it while you can! And if you don't enjoy it...kiss our asses, one at a time. HAHA.  
  
Review Responses:  
  
Tensleep: Depth, its our favorite thing! Really, that's the point of writing, yo have to get it right, or it just sucks. The girl at the draftee's office; ah, yes, she's an idiot, and meant to be. You see, they are all idiots, hence the files getting lost. LOL. Well, unfortunately for you, Keira has not been in any new writing moods, and shoot, this chapter was up to me, the infamous Rock. Sorry, babe. And one more thing, IM sorry, but we both agreee that you will only get the really long chapters in SF. That was...is...an exception, the only one, to every rule we ever developed. I swear it. Well, GTG. Have a great day!  
  
SilentScream66: Wow, opinionated today are we? Well, here's all we have to say, you must be desperate to read a new great fic yourself, you wont ever get it with that attitude. So go screw yourself, and never come back. We could give a rat's ass if you did.  
  
DaNNi BaBezZz: Give Darry grey hair? I don't think so, he's too hot to have grey hair, not till he's....really old, like 60. LOL. Sorry, but we aren't the best at being 'nice'. Nope, not in our way of doing things. Here's the much delayed update. Enjoy while you can!  
  
Sodapop02: HAHA, well, we couldn't bear to end it there, it wouldn't fulfill our need to go around being mean to the readers and keeping them hanging all the time. Of course you can gather from the summary that this story isn't the normal everything works out type, it's more of a twists and turns, can't believe that would happen kind of thing. But logically it fits, if you think long and hard about it. Have fun reading!  
  
FUDDYDUDDY: Wow. We can't even thank you enough for all your support! We think it is soo cute that you get your husband to read this with you, and man, you got a catch! (If you don't mind us saying so. We don't mean to be brash in any way). We will keep writing this our way, no worries there. We really hope people have read what you said about OC's because we agree one hundred percent and try to make ours worth reading. Life isn't just about interaction between the family, it is about interaction to everyone. Well, thanks for your continued support! We really do appreciate more than you know or we can tell you. Enjoy!  
  
sodasgurl41: Lame huh? Could you not think of a better word? Seriously, lame is just an under descriptive general word to describe anything you think you dislike or would rather not think on. Go take you "lame" bitchiness to someone else.  
  
Catherine Ace: Dont ever take offense in liking anything, you can like whatever you want and everyone else who thinks you are crazy can go to hell. Its people who don't like this that are the narrow minded ones. Be proud to have an open mind and a logical one at that. We agree that 1. Lost papers are completely believable, and 2. That it would take a very long time and hard road to prove anything to the military in the time of war. Well, thanks for reading and liking! Sorry I took so long, but love it while its here!  
  
Skye Renegarde: Wow, thanks! We love to do nothing more than to bring out peoples emotions, we definitely felt it in that review! Well, I hope you like this next chapter just as much. LOL.  
  
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Mel: Stupid reviews form Mel = BORING.  
  
ShyXshortieXbabe: Yes, exactly, know what you mean... Now, what is a taco pocket? Just a tad curious now...  
  
sodipop5: Whoa...okay, who ever said DIE? I mean, you will have to wait and see, but are we THAT insensitive? Don't get too scared. Enjoy, but please don't have a heart attack or anything. We don't want that, really.  
  
Sitting by the pool/guess who/captain cookie damnopinionatedreviewerscaptaincookietheasskicker.com): Wow....where to begin? You sure were high hottie. I mean, are you sure it was JUST sugar? LOL. JK. You know, you just BARELY saved yourself in that second review, stud. We were ready to kill for a second. But the rest was nice and good. Keira is thinking (and this is Keira speaking) that the beer must've gone to your head worse than usual. Geez, man... You'd think that you could handle a bit more of it by now. Although we did finish it all off in four hours... And the fact that you were actually at home instead of camping really was a good thing... to me anyway. But I do feel bad that you never got to go. Maybe this summer, right? Ninja Turtles rock, lol. That was my favorite cartoon growing up. I'm glad I got you in the mood for them again. Oh, and please continue to piss off our readers. We love that. Of course, we love any guy that will defend us, but you're a special case ;) Jk, no but seriously, we like it. Keep it up... even if you don't choose to read this anymore. But you better, if you know what's good for you. And besides that, we think you might actually like this, even though it is from Pony's POV, because he doesn't have the best of luck or times down there...Well, talk to ya later!  
  
Talonz Jones: Hey, its cool to know that someone else is thinking along the same lines as we are. It all came about in history class...I guess I cant curse history anymore... Well, the swearing is relatively minimal in this chapter, we counted three, and if there is more, then sorry. Just don't read our review responses to people we would rather not hear from at times. LOL. We hope you further enjoy!  
  
Chibi Tatiana: Yes, sad. We like sad, keep an eye out for more sad to come. But enjoy it anyway! It's not ALL sad. Kudos to that.  
  
Okay, people. I think we left out one or two more irrelvent reviews that we would rather not explain again and again. Besides, we felt they were unworthy of our time and attention, and that's saying something because we have never done this before. Anyway, hope you like the chapter!  
  
The last few weeks had been pretty busy. Everything from social workers coming over to check up and figure things out to Darry and Soda trying to figure out what they were going to do with things while we were all gone, and hearing about the rest the gang. Two-Bit and Steve were leaving soon to the draft too. One of them was going on the same date as Soda and the other on some other date to some other place in the US. It was odd that everyone was leaving at the same time, but that's just how it happened.  
  
The stupid people at the child care services offices never could find the files they needed. They said the military draftees office was being real picky and needed the certain original files or something along those lines. I didn't know much, only that both my brothers were going to war, even if Darry should be staying home, because people were idiots, and I now had the pleasure of moving to some strange families house until Darry or Soda got back, supposing they came back on two feet and not in a box.  
  
Today I got home from running a few errands with Soda to see a social worker sitting with Darry in the front room. At that point I had gotten used to the site, it happened at least twice a week for the last two or three, I don't really know how long it had been. My clock was screwed up, and everything was in slow motion.  
  
At any rate, the site didn't surprise me, but what happened after that did. I don't think it surprised Darry or Soda, they must have been told, but it slapped me in the face hard enough all the same.  
  
I was going to some home in Texas. That's right, Texas. And that wasn't even the hard part. The worst was when they told us the plans. I was leaving the next morning at eight. I had a few hours to pack and the next morning we all had to say goodbye.  
  
That was a few hours ago that the social worker came. Yeah, its about seven o'clock now. I've spent the last hour trying to pack, but I cant. It's so hard. What do I take? What will I miss if I don't take it? Not only that, but I got a picture to take first thing; one with my parents and Darry and Soda, the whole happy family. Every time I looked at it tears would brim my eyes and I had to think that if my parents were still there I wouldn't be leaving in the morning to live with some stranger.  
  
Soda knocked on the door, "Can I come in?"  
  
"Its your room too." I said blandly. I could hear all the guys horsing around in the front room through the walls, but it nearly shattered my aching head when Soda opened the door to come in. Thankfully, he closed it after him.  
  
"How're things coming?" He asked, sitting next to me on my bed and looking around to the strewn clothes and objects all over the room. My room hadn't been that messy for months.  
  
"They aren't." I said flat out. Any other time I might have been embarrassed that I spent upwards of two hours accomplishing nothing, but then I didn't care. It was Soda, and that was one of the worst days of my life if you didn't count mom and dad's death and funeral.  
  
"Well...can I help?"  
  
"Soda...I don't wanna go!" I wasn't shouting, but I broke down quicker than I thought I might. I didn't want to do that, not to anyone, but I didn't see why it was all happening. I wanted to stay with my family. Screw the war.  
  
"I know, Pon. But its just till things get worked out and Darry comes back. Everything'll be fine." He pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back, "I wish it could all stay like it has been too, but its just life and everything will work out for good. Don't worry."  
  
I cried into his shirt like that for awhile, the whole time he kept saying things along those lines, cracking small jokes and rubbing my back. I really didn't know what I would do without Soda. Even if Darry came back fine, I couldn't live without Soda. No way in hell.  
  
When I had finished my bougt of tears, Soda pushed me away and ruffled my hair.  
  
"You sure are a good kid, Pony. Always were, always will be." He smiled to me, "Now, lets keep that going. Let me help you pack, kid brother."  
  
We started packing then, actually getting a few things in the suitcase. Soda made sure I had enough pants and shirts, a few shorts even. He went and got the only dress clothes I had that fit me now, saying the people might want me to go to church with them or something. He made sure I had a few books and things to entertain me. The list goes on, he wasn't going to miss anything, especially if it made me more comfortable or happy. He even gave me a DX shirt to take, said the girls would like it, and I could be just like him. I had to smile at it, even if I didn't think the girls would go for it. It would remind me of him, and that was good.  
  
He had just handed me the DX shirt and started to explain it when Darry knocked on the door and came in right after, not waiting for an answer. I was chuckling at Soda, feeling a bit better by that time, at least for the moment. I still knew I wouldn't get any sleep that night, but I didn't want to ruin the moment.  
  
"What're you rascals doing in here? Sorting out firecrackers?" Darry chided us, grinning at the site. But he sure was lost.  
  
"Yeah, Darry. Thought if we all had to leave we might as well leave with a bang." Soda joked back. His tone was serious, but that crazy wild grin of his told Darry he was returning the family favor. I sure would miss that grin of his, I thought, all the good flooding away witht the sadnss that engulfed me. My stomach sank.  
  
Darry was grinning at Sodapop in a funny I-sure-love-you way when I gave him a straight answer,"We were just packing, Darry." Any happiness in my tone or face was far gone by then. I turned away from them and walked over to the suitcase, pulling out my picture of the family and wrapping it in Soda's shirt.  
  
"What's with the DX shirt?" Darry then had a confused look on his face.  
  
Soda picked up his crazy grin again then, flashing mischief in his eyes, " So he can catch some girls down in the richness of Texas town. Those shirts will do it for ya!" He was excited, but truly believed it might help me. I had to laugh.  
  
"Sodapop, you sure are a crazy little man." Darry play shoved him, grinning yet again, "I don't think it was the shirt, but Pony here has got his own charm. Im sure he'll fair just fine without your coaching." Darry winked over at me, it wasn't really a wink, but it was the same type of movement and message. It was a rare thing for him to do, but it was great to see. He really was going to miss me and I could tell right then.  
  
"Hey! Im good with the gals!" Soda retorted.  
  
Darry just laughed at him, "Yup. So, you two want some dinner? Im craving some good old steak, what do you say to a night out?"  
  
"Only if you are paying for the all of us." Soda said, still getting over the hard blow.  
  
"Nah, you have to pay for yourselves since we are going to have so many bills in the next six months." He replied sarcastically, walking out of the room to the now empty living room. I guess Darry had chased everyone out earlier and I hadn't noticed. He turned around when he was in the living room, looking into our room from the key table by the door, stuffing his wallet in his pocket, "Of course I'm paying, knuckle head. What kind of a brother would I be if I made you pay yourselves? Its all you can eat even!"  
  
"A mean one." Soda replied, newly happy again, "Lets go Pony!" He yelled, bouncing out of the house past Darry. I dropped my stuff and pulled on a better shirt as I slowly walked out of the house. Darry was waiting at the front door. He put his arm around me once I had my shirt on all the way and we walked out together. He was really going to miss me, he sure was acting weird.  
  
Don't get me wrong, I was sure going to miss them too, even Darry's lectures and pestering, I'm sure. It was just that I had never seen them act like that before, so it took me off guard for things to be like that. It hit me hard that Darry would actually miss me, and that Soda was the one acting normal, not Darry.  
  
We had a fun night. Darry wasn't kidding when he said all you can eat steak. We ate and ate and ate because he didn't care how much it cost, said it was our "fireworks". That way we were legal. Soda ate up the idea along with the food, so Darry seemed to be at ease about it. He knew that Soda had been joking, but he also knew it planted an idea in his head when he had mentioned it. If Soda's face ever lights up like that you have to be careful.  
  
After we ate, we went and saw a movie; Darry even seemed to enjoy it. By the time we were finished with the movie scene, all of us were hungry again, go figure. Darry teased me saying I couldn't eat as much at my foster families house. I told him that I was a growing boy, and I would starve if I didn't eat as much as I did. Anyway, we went out for shakes and fries. It was great.  
  
By the time we got home it was midnight or so, so I finished my packing this morning with Darry's help. He has a nice waking hand and a logical mind for packing too. Well, that didn't take long, and after showering I found myself eating breakfast in the dining room while Soda shaved and Darry cooked the last bit of eggs and bacon.  
  
Darry had decided to go all out on breakfast. He baked an extra cake the day before, made pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, hashed browns, toast and jam, sausage, even made chocolate milkshakes for everyone. All the guys were over for our last breakfast together, and they sure were enjoying the food. I was glad to see that something good could come from me having to leave. Steve seemed extra happy, he was actually semi nice to me for the first time in...ever.  
  
"Hey, Dar!" Soda called form the open door of the steaming bathroom, I could tell from the echoing of his voice that he was still in there, besides he spent about an hour in there everyday...so it was not past his time yet.  
  
"What, Soda?" Steve asked, like he might know the answer. Two-bit did what I wanted to but couldn't when he hit Steve over the head and they went wrestling to the floor.  
  
"Not you, conceited greaser!" Soda called, "Dar, where's the last jar of hair grease? I know we had some!" a door in the bathroom slammed shut, and Soda walked through the dining room in his usual green towel early morning attire and into the kitchen to talk to the un-answering Darry.  
  
I never heard Darry answer, but pretty soon Soda was back in the dining room, somehow having put on his clothes and combed his hair back in ten minutes. He sat down and piled eggs and bacon on his plate, covering them with strawberry jam and them piling a huge piece of cake and extra sugar on next to it.  
  
Soda ate real fast, faster than normal, which I personally thought impossible till now. How he did it was completely beyond me, and by the look on Steve's, and even Two-bit's, they were thinking the same.  
  
I decided then that I needed a little fresh air, maybe a cigarette. It was finally hitting me that I was leaving, I wouldn't see Two-Bit or anyone for...however long. The one thing I had always feared and thought about was coming about, and it wasn't anything like I thought it would be. I wasn't even all that upset, just numb. I couldn't believe I had actually eaten, come to think of it. It wouldn't stay down long, I was almost sure.  
  
Standing up to leave, Soda looked up at me, "Where ya going?" he asked, his mouth still full.  
  
"To the porch..." I walked out of the room and made my way to the porch, needing a cigarette desperately and wanting some last Oklahoma air.  
  
The site was nice, the cigarette better and the air refreshing as it needed to be. I sure was going to miss that place. I had grown up there, all my childhood was in that yard, those trees that lined the right side, in the now yellow grass and dirt driveway.  
  
I sat on the porch ledge for I don't know how long day dreaming, but was interrupted by Two-Bit coming out.  
  
He leaned against the pillar next to me and lit up, "Texas has mighty fine babes...I wouldn't mind going there myself... Hell, I'd jump on that plane with you if I could, man..." He took a nice drag on his cigarette and looked down at me, "I'm jealous man, you better catch a babe and then hook me up with her friend for when I get back." He started laughing like a maniac, and pulled out a beer I didn't know he had. But then again, he always had a beer on him.  
  
"Yeah, sure, Two-bit. No problem." I said without emotion. I was looking over to the tracks that you could see from the house. A train was rolling past, and I thought of Johnny. That was the last train ride I would ever have, when we went to Windrixville. Trains would never mean the same thing to me again. I hoped that there weren't any trains in Texas. I didn't want to see one everyday; it brought back bad memories.  
  
Just then Darry opened the door and looked at me, "Pon, we gotta get going, or you'll miss your plane. C'mon, kiddo."  
  
I slip off my spot, looking once more at the view, then went to grab my suitcases. I had two, and Darry was right next to me carrying one. We walked past the bathroom into the living room again, for the last time. Soda was in the bathroom washing his face, and Steve and Two-Bit were in the front room waiting. I stopped and set down my suitcase, looking at them blankely. Was I supposed to do something now?  
  
"So...this is goodbye for a while kid. Take care of yourself and...aaa...find a cute chick for the both of us." Two-Bit said, finally sobered a bit. He stepped a little closer to me and patted me on the back, "Shoot kid! Damn...I don't even care." He pulled me into a quick hug and gave me a knuckle to the head when he let me go. I pushed him away playfully as I blushed.  
  
Two-Bit stepped back then, a little embarrassed himself. He looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with me or anyone else in the house, and stuffed his fists in his pockets awkwardly.  
  
Steve looked at me a second, then to Soda, then back to me, "You know...you're an okay kid. Don't let it go to your head or nothin'...but yeah, you're okay." He hit me on the shoulder and stepped back, "See ya, kid."  
  
I nodded, in shock that he said any thing, and it wasn't an insult at that. But I figured by the look he had given me after looking over to Soda that he did it more for my brother's sake than mine.  
  
"C'mon, Pon." Soda came up from behind me, grabbed my suitcase and squeezed my shoulder, "Time to go, kiddo." 


	5. Meet the Parents

A/n: Don't expect chapters to come along again this quickly all the time, lol. We have other things that we're working on and don't always have time for this particular one – but know that it will always be updated, no matter what.  
  
Some of you may be disappointed in the very very beginning of this chapter, but it just would've have worked out to see them all say goodbye. Their goodbyes were done at the house, so you know...  
  
Review Responses:  
  
Skye Renegarde: HAHA. Weeee is right! Yeah, Texas shall be fun. Pony might not like it exactly as much as we do... but you know, life isn't fair all the time, lol. And in poor Pony's case it isn't fair for these last several years. Thanks!  
  
ShyXshortieXbabe: Well, hopefully this'll give you a feel for Pony's foster family. We don't like to think of them as his family, but his temporary caretakers that just happen to rock... well, most of them, lol. Glad to know you're excited, haha.  
  
MissLKid: Haha, we made you cry! Hahahahaha! Taunts Jk. But we're glad you felt it. Emotion was meant to be conveyed. Yes! Keep reviewing. The more the merrier...the merrier we are that is. :D  
  
Oblivious Misconception: We love the title too, hehe. It was irresistible. Yeah, people around here... particularly the person who wrote that has had major experience in that field, so it better be authentic, lol. Thanks.  
  
Tensleep: You just barely discovered that your computer is weird and picky? We don't think it deserved to be called a machine at that... Jk. Yes, adventure is nice... not so much for Pony, but it's nice...  
  
The Almighty Captain Cookie!: Man, learn to spell your name right, geez... shakes their heads. You better keep reading even though it was mushy. The mushiness is over. So, calm down. Jk. Anyway, yeah PonyBOY is going to have some shifty-eyed... fun....hahaha. This should be enjoyable on your part. And Keira doesn't mind PonyBOY getting you a babe... but no fooling around. Remember, I'm pregnant? And that means we still need a name for the baby. Lol, see ya.  
  
FUDDYDUDDY: Well, maybe you're experiencing the flashbacks, because they're flashbacks for Alli too...lol. Nah, but that's so sad that you had to go through that. At least he's back, right? Thanks for your compliment. That means a lot to us.  
  
Catherine Ace: RTOL backwards huh? That ought to be fun... kinda like a panandrom huh? Good to know your laptop lasted long enough for us, haha. It must be good to you ;) Thanks for reading.  
  
goddess of darkness3: Thanks a ton! Keep reading!  
  
Anonymous: You think Pony's been through enough? Nah, he's never been through enough. If you wanna see him go through even more...just keep reading. Thanks.  
  
A/n: Thanks guys, now for the part you actually want.... We hope.  
  
The flight was much shorter than I had expected. I was prepared for a several hour flight, but it was only about two hours long. That was fine by me, I mean, if I had known it would only be that long I wouldn't have cared. But when the pilot announced that we would be landing in twenty minutes, I was far from ready.  
  
The social worker had met us at the airport, and told me exactly what was going on. A family down in Fisk, Texas had agreed to take me in for as long as was needed. They were a younger couple, in their early thirties, and they had three kids, all five and under, and a nephew who lived with them that was my age, give or take a year. Fisk was a small town, with a population of about seventy people and the family ranched. Their names were Jack and Melanie Briggs, and they had only just agreed to this a few days before. They were good friends of my social worker, and when they heard about my case, they thought it over for a few days and decided they wouldn't mind having someone else around. Since neither parties had the time or opportunity to see pictures of one another to know who to look out for, they would be holding up a sign for me in the lobby, and I was to meet them there.  
  
I was more than nervous about it all. I had never gone anywhere without at least one other person that I knew, and I didn't know how I felt about doing it. Obviously, I would've rather stayed at home, but since that wasn't an option, I didn't even know how I was supposed to be reacting to this. I know it happens all the time – foster kids going to live elsewhere – but that doesn't mean that I ever seriously thought that I would be one of them.  
  
Sooner than I would've liked, the plane touched the ground. I could hear a little boy behind me squealing to his mother about seeing grandma and the man next to me snorted in his sleep before he jerked awake to see us slowing down. He sat up and grinned. He told me in the beginning of the flight that he was going home and that he had been away for three months on various business trips. I was humiliated when he asked if I was coming and going, and then who I was coming to see. I told him the truth because I wasn't in the mood to make up a lie, but I would've rather have done the lying bit. He stopped talking to me after that, probably afraid that he'd bring up a sensitive subject or something. I wouldn't have minded talking about it. I mean, yeah it sucks to leave, but it might have helped me to get over some of my nerves.  
  
Finally we were walking out of the airplane and into the airport. I legs were shaking slightly. I guess you could say I was afraid that I wouldn't find Jack and Melanie Briggs, or that they wouldn't show up, or even that the next year or so of my life was going to go all downhill from here. Just about every possibility of what could happen had crossed my mind by then, and none of them were comforting.  
  
I readjusted my backpack before stepping through the portal door. The airport was crowded with tons of people. I quickly moved out of the way so others could pass me while I looked for my foster family. I felt awkward standing there in my suit and tie, because most people were casual, but Darry had wanted me to dress to impress and I couldn't object.  
  
Within a minute I spotted a small, young family with a little boy who was holding up a small sign that read my name. His dad, who I assumed to be Jack, was holding him in his arms and when I walked their way, the little boy turned to him and asked, "Is that him?"  
  
"I don't know, Preston. Let's ask."  
  
I stopped a few feet in front of them and smiled weakly. "Mr. Briggs?"  
  
He broke out in a smile and held out his hand. "Jack. You're Ponyboy? Is that right? Ponyboy?"  
  
I laughed a little. "Yeah, that's my name." I shook his hand. He seemed all right so far. I could tell just by the way he handled his son that he was a gentle man. He couldn't have been older than thirty-two either, I wouldn't think. He had dark brown hair and a near-leathery brown tan. He was as tall as Darry or taller and he had a build of a rancher. He was definitely a cowboy, although he didn't dress like it right then. He was wearing a dark green suit, and I had a feeling that was his wife's doing.  
  
"Nice to meet you. This is my wife, Melanie, and our kids, Kyle, Preston, and Kaytie, and my nephew Joe."  
  
I shook hands with Melanie. You could tell she was on the younger side, but she looked older. Her blond hair was in a weave down to her shoulder blades and her skin was more leathery than Jack's was, but she was fair looking. It didn't tarnish her appearance too much.  
  
"I'm so glad to meet you, Ponyboy," Melanie gushed. It was a tad overboard, but I knew her intentions were good, so it didn't bother me in the least. "We've been looking forward to this. I hope we can make you feel more than at home with us."  
  
I smiled shyly. I don't think I'm very shy, but there's something to say for meeting your new "family" for the first time. "Glad to meet you too."  
  
I nodded to Joe who looked bored out of his mind, and he nodded back. He looked forced into the suit and very uncomfortable in it. I could tell from the off that he was a lazy guy who could careless what this meeting was about or that it was even happening. He didn't look worried that I was invading his space or anything, just bored and passive. He had short, what would be clean cut, hair that was tasseled around a bit, like he had just woken up, and he looked like it as a general rule, just anyway. The only thing that irked me about him thus far was that every time someone said my name he would smirk a little. I couldn't blame him, but he could try and keep his humorous thoughts to himself.  
  
I shook his hand and he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He changed his mind and didn't say anything at all.  
  
"Well, Ponyboy – do you go by Ponyboy... or?" Jack's thought changed half way through his sentence.  
  
"Pony, Ponyboy...Pon...whatever. I go by whatever."  
  
"All right. Well, is it all right if we go to dinner first? We made reservations here in the city." He was asking me if it was all right? Of course it was all right. Why would I object to that? Of course, I knew he was asking out of courtesy, so I didn't say any of that. Not that I would've at this point in time.  
  
"Sure. Okay."  
  
We made our rounds around the airport, collecting my luggage and stopping for the little kids to go to the bathroom. They were cute little kids. The girl was about one and a half years old and still sucked on a pacifier and looked too shy to say anything except to whisper in Melanie's ear. The two boys, who looked about three and five, ran in circles around us and the older one, Kyle, accidentally knocked Preston to the floor. Preston started to whimper, and Kyle patted him on the head and said he was sorry, but he was still upset, so Joe stopped and picked him up. He didn't seem like a half bad guy. He was just different than anyone that I had ever met. I wasn't sure what to think of him... Not that I had been given much of a chance yet to know.  
  
"So, how do you like Tulsa?" Melanie asked me as we walked out the doors into the parking lot.  
  
I grinned and started to talk to her. I wasn't afraid to talk to her like I thought I might be. She was trying so hard to make me feel welcome, I couldn't help but like her already. I could tell from the off that she was really warm and friendly.  
  
The ride to the restaurant was quicker than I thought it would be. It was only a few streets from the airport and traffic wasn't that thick. The city, San Angelo, was quiet tonight. Probably because it was the middle of the week and most people reserved themselves for the weekends. From the looks of the restaurant on the outside, it wasn't cheap. The lights were dimmed on the inside, coming from red, Tiffany style, chandeliers that hung low over the tables. Waiters in black pants and crisp red jackets walked around like large robots, holding silver platters at shoulder height and bending stiffly to lower and lift dishes.  
  
"Do you like Japanese food, Pony?" Jack asked as we walked to the front door.  
  
"I've never had it before." I had always heard that it was good, but I never actually tried it for myself. The only Japanese place we had in Tulsa ran in the ranges of ten to fifteen dollars a plate, and what greaser had the money for that? Darry spends that much money on food for three days. The only one of us that had ever gone there was Darry and that was for the last meal his football team had before the end of the season his senior year. He wanted to go, because it would be strange if the captain didn't show up, so Dad forked over the money for him. We didn't eat out for a couple of months after that. Dad said that that had cleaned out whatever he would've used on any of us. It was fine with us though. Darry had fun and wasn't embarrassed by not going. It got to be normal with his buddies. "My brother likes it though. He said he was going to make me try it sometime, but we never got around to it."  
  
"Really? Oh, you're going to love it. They have non-seafood dishes too, if you're worried at all about that." He held the door open for everyone and Joe strolled up to the host like he was the boss of the place.  
  
"I like seafood. I've had sushi before," I told him, remembering that tidbit. It wasn't my favorite thing, but if I could handle that, I was sure I could handle whatever else the Japanese made.  
  
"Hmmm. Good stuff."  
  
We were there for about an hour and half. The chef made the food when we ordered it, so it took a while to get our food, but I didn't mind it. I was too busy being overwhelmed. I was sitting to eat with the family I was supposedly going to live with for a while, in a state I had never been to before, in a restaurant I felt unworthy to be in – not to mention the awkwardness of ordering food that I wasn't going to be paying for, and felt like I would owe a huge favor to Jack for paying for me. I got water to drink while Joe helped himself to coke and an additional appetizer besides the one they provided to us for free. I figured that some day I'd be comfortable with how and what I ordered, but today wasn't that day. I doubted I would ever be that comfortable to order more than I felt okay with letting Jack pay for, but then again, I got the feeling that Joe wasn't concerned with money matters.  
  
Jack went off and told me all about his ranch. He had over a hundred acres of land, seven tame horses, one colt that was still in training. Those horses belonged to the family. He also owned a herd of around thirty wild horses that roamed the land but stayed out of the way of people, along with a load of sheep that were good for sheering and selling the meat. On one side of this ranch, he had a lodge that he set up for people to vacation at. He called it a dude ranch, and although I was sure I had heard the term before, I didn't know exactly what it was. He explained it as a place where people came and learned all about what it's like to be a cowboy or cowgirl. That place alone had staff of twenty-three people who ran the place and it's twenty horses, three bulls and four cows, six pigs, two goats, and a pen full of hens for laying eggs to round off the authentic experience. Jack inherited the dude ranch from his father who passed away three years prior to then. He bought an extra twenty acres for himself and his family soon after.  
  
Boy was I excited. He said I was welcome to ride the horses anytime I wanted, and I was more than anxious to take him up on that offer. I hadn't had much experience with horses, but I was ready to learn. Apparently Joe knew all about horses, but he didn't pay much attention to them except when he went off on long rides early in the morning and didn't come back until after nightfall. Joe didn't look very happy that I was enlightened with that bit of information, but could you blame him? I guaranteed that I wouldn't be going that far. I wasn't even sure I would end up liking horses, but I was willing to give it a chance. The thought sounded good to me.  
  
"The black stallion is mine," Joe told me when Jack said I was welcome to ride them at anytime. "Don't no one ride him but me." That kid sounded more like a hood than I did. He also sounded a lot more selfish than any Soc I had ever met.  
  
I just nodded. Who was I to ride his horse if he had any objections? Jack gave Joe a look and continued. "Diablo decided that Joe was the only person who could ride him, a long time ago. He doesn't like being touched by anyone else, so be careful around him."  
  
"Okay." That was more than understandable. I wasn't aiming to get my head kicked in by a horse. "How big is he? Is he a thoroughbred?"  
  
"Yup. Fifteen hands. Came from a good line of show horses too."  
  
"Cool."  
  
As it turned out, Fisk was around an hour out of the city. The nearest city was fifteen minutes north, and that's where I would be going to school. Fisk was too small for a school of it's own. Jack said there'd be around five high schoolers, if there had been one, and that's it. That gave me a pretty good idea of how small the town was.  
  
We passed by two other houses, both very spaced apart, before reaching the Briggs' home. It was a two story, wooden laced house that could fit my house eight times, easily. I doubt I have ever even been in a house so big in my life. I could only imagine what they could do with so much space and so few people. Jack mentioned a pool in the back and a game room upstairs. Those two caught my attention right off, but I definitely wouldn't be getting around to them the first night. Besides, it was still winter and the pool wouldn't be in use for a few more months.  
  
By the time we pulled up into the driveway it was heading on ten at night and all the kids were asleep in their car seats. Joe and I had to share a bench in the van, and I was fine with it until he spread out across two of the seats and propped his foot up in front of me, on Melanie's seat's arm. That pretty much crowded me out and I don't think I could feel any less comfortable. Boy was I glad to get out of there.  
  
Jack unloaded my luggage from the back and gave some of it to Melanie and took the rest himself. Joe didn't stick around to help like Jack had asked, but instead was first in the house. I could tell that it frustrated Jack a little, but he didn't say anything. The main problem was that the kids were still asleep and Melanie was going to have trouble getting them all in and helping me.  
  
"I can take my stuff..." I offered. I felt bad with them taking it all on themselves.  
  
Melanie's face fell. "I'm sorry, Ponyboy. It's just that the kids will get cranky and I can't carry Kaytie and –"  
  
"Don't worry about it," I laughed. "Really. I can handle it. I ain't got that much. It ain't that heavy."  
  
She set down my suitcase and got back into the van to take out the kids.  
  
"You see that room up there? On the end?" Jack pointed to the right side of the house.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"That's your room. We weren't sure what you'd prefer more, but it was between that and the flowery room Melanie's parents stay in there sometimes, or the unfinished room with bare spots still in the floor. So, we assumed..." He grinned.  
  
"Nice. Thanks."  
  
Melanie climbed back out and guided a sleepy Kyle to Jack, who picked him up and propped him on his chest, then took off into the house, beckoning me to follow him. Melanie followed with Kaytie and Preston.  
  
Walking in the front door was like entering a new world. From the doorway you could see almost the entire downstairs. There were only partial walls separating rooms, and it made it seem even more spacious than it was. To the right was a large room with couches and chairs and a stone fireplace. To the left was a breakfast room and a huge kitchen. There was a TV room, a play area, and at the back, you could see to the outside where there was the pool, covered and gated, and swing sets and all sorts of play equipment for the kids.  
  
"We'll give you a tour tomorrow, if that's all right," Melanie said, coming in behind me. "It's just getting so late tonight and there's school tomorrow and..."  
  
I had almost forgotten about school. "How early do I need to get up?"  
  
"Oh, hunny," she giggled. "You don't start until Monday. We want you settled before you have to start school. No, the school is aware you're coming, and they are just fine with waiting until Monday. You don't have to get up at any particular time until then. But starting with school, we'd like you to be up by seven. School starts at eight thirty and it's a twenty minute drive to the city. You and Joe will be driving together." Today was Wednesday. That was quite a while to wait, but I didn't mind at all.  
  
"Oh, okay. Great." I smiled. No school was more than okay with me, for now.  
  
We made our way upstairs and I followed Jack to the end of the hallway, while Melanie took the kids to bed. "The second room at the other end is Joe's. He likes to be secluded some. Don't be afraid to go over there though. He's a good kid, don't let him scare you."  
  
"He doesn't."  
  
"Good. And then the one at the at the very end is mine. The one across from yours – I hope you don't mind – is Kyle's and Preston's. They keep pretty quiet at night though. The one at the top of the stairs is Kaytie's, and she's usually not too bad anymore. You shouldn't be bothered by her though. You're spaced far enough away."  
  
We walked into my room and he flipped on the light. My jaw almost dropped seeing it. It was at least three times as big as Soda's and my room, and a lot cooler looking. It wasn't quite Western, but every piece of furniture was made from the same reddish raw wood – the bed frame, desk, chair, night stand, dresser, even the wood around the mirror above the dresser was built with raw wood. The comforter on the bed was a creamy blue and white, and looked more than comfortable. The floor was smooth, dark wood covered by a hand woven rug.  
  
"I hope it's okay," Jack said, smiling at the surprise on my face. He dragged my suitcase over by the dresser and closet. I followed suit. "There are about a million hangers in there for you to use and you can use the dresser and whatever you'd like." He opened the closet. He sighed, good natured, when he spotted two white cloth hampers. "Melanie is really organized. Don't worry about doing everything perfect. Although I'm assuming one is for lights and one for darks... or one for school and one for others... I dunno, but either way, don't worry about it. She has fun doing laundry and separating. She's a neat freak."  
  
I barely heard what he said as I was concentrating on four identical suits hanging up in the closet.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Don't mind those for now," Jack said following my gaze. "You aren't being subjected to wearing them until you start school. They aren't that bad. I used to wear them myself. They're actually pretty comfortable."  
  
"School...uniforms?" No one mentioned wearing a school uniform...  
  
"Yes, sir. For Coleman Academy. They're pretty particular about their dress code too." He started to step away, heading more towards the door.  
  
"Do I go to a private school?" That's the only thing that came to mind when I saw those.  
  
"Did no one tell you?"  
  
"Nope..." Me at a private school? I never imagined that ever happening. It was kind of a spooky thought.  
  
"Ah, well, you'll get a good education there. I hear you like school. Got yourself into all the smart classes, huh?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. Does Joe go there too?"  
  
"Sure does. Have to beg the school to keep him at the end of each semester too. He causes them grief sometimes... but no matter... I'll leave you here. You're probably tired anyway. The bathroom across the hallway is all yours, go ahead and unload whatever you want in there. We've set out a few towels for you to use. You can either hang them out to dry after you use them, or put them down the laundry shoot in the kids bathroom if they get dirty. Or do whatever you would like."  
  
"Okay. Thanks."  
  
"Sure thing. Are you okay? Anything I can get you or...?" He looked beat, completely worn out. But even if he hadn't, there wasn't anything else I could think of that he could possibly do for me. As if he hadn't already done enough...  
  
"No. I'm good."  
  
"You sure?" I nodded. "All right. If you need anything, you know where to find me. G'night, Ponyboy." He started to leave.  
  
"Good night, Mr. Briggs. Thanks."  
  
"Jack," he corrected me as he closed the door behind him.  
  
Standing in my new room with my two suitcases at my feet and all the time in the world to unpack and do whatever I wanted in there... I had only one thought crossing my mind.  
  
This was going to be interesting. 


	6. Wild Wild West

A/N: Hey peoples, we are back again! Before I go on, a little note to y'all. IN this chapter, Pony seems to be really happy and care-free I guess, but he's really not. He's more numb than anything. He doesn't miss home yet, he's not really all that upset yet. I guess the situation hasn't really fully hit him yet, it will, be patient. But I'm telling you, this is how it worked out, and you wouldn't have an update if it wasn't this way, so deal. Okay, that's done, enjoy!  
  
Review responses:  
  
SummerU: Nah, you took a wrong turn. Now, go back the way you came.  
  
Captain Cookie! Guy who only spells when he wants to: HAHA, babe, you're not meant to like Joe, but if you do, we can deal with that. Well, the mushiness is over for a while -- a long while, we think -- so don't worry about that. We know what you like and don't like and we're trying to be careful You know, we bet that you make a lot of people pissed off with your "Ponybrat" but we personally love it. It's so fun to say, even if we don't agree. Ponybrat... Ponybrat... it has a cool ring to it. Unlike Lenny that just sounds odd. Lol. Speaking of which... I hear that the baby has a new name? I wanna hear this. Allison doesn't remember what it was and I'm going crazy because supposedly it still has the name Lenny in it. Duck Duck Goose is WAAAAAAAAAY out of the question. I refuse to do that one. Lol. That would be just cruel, like Courteney Arquette who named her baby Coco...sheesh...some people. Jk. Oh and on a side note, we're both really sorry about the Flames.  
        It killed my morning when I found out and all I could think about for a whole five minutes while I read the newspaper articles was about how sad you'd be about it Anyway... Glad to know you're still reading -- and I"m going to make a quick plug and say that I think you might actually enjoy the latest chapter of Rock Bottom because Pony has some bad luck with...well... someone who you'd probably end up liking, lol. Yeah so... Missed both of you while I was gone... Allison got to talk to you...so she doens't miss you...but you know...lol, jk. I'm rambling now. Bye Stud.  
  
Tensleep: Thanks! Man, she had fun with that airplane part. And shoot, did you think we would send Pony to a mean family or something? I couldn't do that, not in this story at least. Although, I think that's what people were expecting and wanting. HAHA, we love to be different and piss certain people off. Everything I do is controversial; I'm just keeping with tradition here. Anyway, thanks and enjoy!    
  
MissLKid: That wasn't mean, we are much worse when we are mean., but sorry if it came off that way. We meant in no way to be anything close to mean. You are a great reviewer and we appreciate that you always read. Thanks!  
  
Sodapop02: LOL. We didn't want mean people in the story, its tragic enough in my view, but I know what its like to send a loved one to war. HAHA, I guess you have to wait and see about Joe. And about showing some of Soda and Darry, I've already started it, we will show them here and there...but don't expect too much. Keep reading!  
  
sodipop5: HAHA, thanks. Its all good, you can hate war, I see at ie and place for it, even though its sad and all. You sound like a German, the way you hate it so much. Well, thanks a ton.  
  
Skye Renegarde: HAHA, Thanks. Glad to hear that you like it.  
  
Oblivious Misconception: Thanks a ton! We had no idea how that chapter would go, and your opinion means a ton to us. I feel much better about this now. Yeah, Joe is a bit cocky, huh? Just you wait.... Yeah, private school is going to be an interesting ride for Pony. But you'll just have to wait and see where that takes him.     
  
LB Shayne: You read five chapter into the story to say that? That's at least 25 pages, if not more of reading; Sad, I must say. And I don't think that Pony would be more upset. He's numb. We didn't ever show the part where he would break down, we are good enough writers to KNOW that we can't do that justice. I must say, you are quick to judge. How do you know that the characters will take over? The whole thing is about interaction between Pony and them, that's not taking over. And newsflash, every story is about interaction. Also, there is No way we could legally put this up on a general fiction site. If a story has one character from any given publication, it IS fan fiction and must be noted as such. I don't want to get sued, I'm poor enough thank you.   
  
  Catherine Ace: Haha. You smell trouble too? Everyone seems to around Joe, in the story and out. I'm happy you like the foster family. They are quite endearing, huh? Darry and Soda will be coming up in a few chapters, don't you worry. Thanks.  
  
ShyXshortieXbabe: Well, it was more of an introductory chapter to the Briggs. Feelings might get int eh way, and besides that, Pony didn't really know what to think, he was just there. Describing things. Sometimes that's the way a person thinks. I'm sure glad you like them, they are an awesome family. Thanks and Read on!  
  
On with the story!  
  
I woke with the sun that morning, only slightly refreshed but unable to sleep any longer. At first opening my eyes, I was confused, but then remembered the night before. I felt so out of place, so miserable and lonely right then. The ceiling was that of another's, the bed unfit for my body, the comforters a different color, the life a different sound.  
  
It was about six thirty when I looked at the clock. I felt uneasy then. I had had dreams of Soda and Darry, the gang, everyone I wanted to be around, wanted to see right then. I dreamt of them all getting killed, all in odd, tragic ways. I dreamt of every funeral, every service, ever burial, and every call and letter. It was the worst nightmare since the unexplainable ones, but this one was almost worse because I remembered it.  
  
I knew that morning that I wouldn't fit in here, on a ranch, in a private school, in a place where greasers didn't exist and socs were unheard of but everywhere at the same time. I was a soc now, what would the guys think of it? How was I going to explain it to them? I mean, sure Darry and Soda would understand, but the rest the gang wouldn't. Steve would hate me even more, pick on me, and Two-bit would laugh and ask how much I hated it. At least Two-bit would stick around and talk to me, or so I hoped.  
  
I got up and grabbed the towel that they had given me the night before to go shower. I picked out my best looking shirt and pants and carried them across the hall to the bathroom. The house was already bustling, but everyone was downstairs, which I was grateful for right then. I didn't want them to see me as a zombie just yet.  
  
I took a quick shower, and after greasing my hair with some grease Darry had made sure to put in for me, I went downstairs. Luckily, as I had hoped, Joe and the oldest boy was gone to school already and the other two kids were in the tub that was in the bathroom right off the kitchen. I thought it was weird that they had a bathroom right there, but it worked out nicely right then.  
  
Melanie came out form the bathroom, leaving the door partially open so she could hear the kids, "Good morning Ponyboy!" boy was she perky. I almost hoped she was only that perky in the morning. It was worse than Soda when he was real happy, which is saying a lot. I was happy she was so happy, don't get me wrong, but it was seven in the morning, for heavens sake.  
  
"Morning." I said, looking around the kitchen and then out the French doors that led to the ranch in the back. It was such a nicely kept place, green grass, and brown dirt separated nicely by sharp barriers. There were flowers all along the crisp dirt paths, and everything was in good keep. There was a yard area before the 'ranch' began. It had a nice large area that was all grass and even a nicely covered pool on one side. It was all fenced off and adorned with flowers and play equipment for the kids. The fences were all white, and bars further out all green, the horses had a separate area of their own, and the big barn was stained a natural red wood. It was beautiful, the most well kept, sharp ranch and yard I had ever seen in my life.  
  
"How did you sleep? Well, I hope."  
  
"I slept great. Thanks." I was half lying, I would have to get used to the bed before I slept great, so it would be a while, but I would live. The dream didn't help either, but everything was fine. I would have to find a library and start reading before I went to bed so I didn't have nightmares. The doctor had said I would grow out of them, and I had to an extent, but they still came back every once in a while.  
  
"Would you like some breakfast?"  
  
Oh. I looked away form the huge yard and garden back to Melanie. I wasn't used to having someone else cooking for me, at least in the morning. Darry had switched to having us all make our own breakfast, he went to work a little earlier now than before. I wondered if it was just a thing for special occasions like it was at my house or a regular thing, but it didn't matter. I would find out soon enough, and I wouldn't turn it down in the mean time.  
  
"Sure, that would be great."  
  
I went over and sat at the huge rectangular table they had, and looked around the kitchen more. It sure was big; like the size of our kitchen, dining room, and front room all put together. It was amazing to me.  
  
"What do you like?" She must have seen my puzzled look because she started naming off available choices real fast, "Eggs? Bacon? Biscuits and gravy? Pancakes? Waffles? Sausage? Toast?"  
  
I thought over it a minute, hoping it wouldn't be too much like ordering food when I asked for what I wanted. I wanted things to go as good as she did.  
  
"Um...eggs and bacon sounds real good. I love eggs, and I haven't had bacon since...yesterday." I started blushing at myself, my stupidity.I couldn't believe I had just said that. . But we didn't normally have bacon around our house, "I mean, we don't normally have bacon around our house, its too expensive...so, that would be great."  
  
Melanie was laughing too, but it was a friendly laugh, she thought it was cute. The only problem with that was that I didn't want to be cute. My first day there and I was already blowing my reputation.  
  
"Okay, easy enough. What kind of eggs?"  
  
At least I didn't have to think about that one, "Sunny side up if you can."  
  
She smiled warmly, "Jack likes them that way too." She set to work them, checking on the kids, and staying quiet a few moments longer before beginning a new, more awkward subject of conversation.  
  
"So, you live with you brother then?" I knew she only wanted to know a little more about me, and now was the time to spill my guts, I was hoping I could do it to everyone who would ask at the same time, but I knew it wouldn't happen. I didn't mind it much actually, and I was happy to be doing a little more than just small talk.  
  
"Yeah. Darry. He's twenty-two now. Been taking care of me and Soda since...for a few years now."  
  
She nodded, "Soda, you said? Is that his real name?"  
  
I chuckled, "My dad was sure an original person. My brothers real name is Sodapop, but we call him Soda for short. Darry's real name is Darrell, Darry for short."  
  
"I'll bet your teachers never forget you two." She laughed a bit," I think its cute."  
  
There she goes with that cute stuff again, I thought. But despite the bad choice of words on her part, I grinned ruefully, "Nope, everyone in Tulsa knows who we are." I left out the part about being hunted down for murder on purpose, but that was at least half the reason why everyone knew who we all were in Tulsa. I didn't think Melanie would take news like that very well. So far they thought I was a great kid, and I planned to keep it that way, as long as I had a choice. At least, I think they didn't know about that.  
  
By the time Melanie had fixed breakfast for me, the kids were starting to scream at each other n the tub. She handed me the plate of perfectly cooked eggs and bacon along with some toast with jam on it, and left the room for her kids quickly.  
  
I was feeling much more comfortable then. This family was actually really cool so far. Joe seemed overly cocky and rude, but the kids seemed to be pretty well behaved and quiet so far. Melanie, although trying a bit too hard the night before, was starting to come around. I was warming up to her slowly, but she seemed nice enough. She was the hardest to get used to, mostly because she was like a mom. I hadn't had a mom in so long, it was awkward, but not as awkward as it would get later on in the day.  
  
Just as Melanie walked away to get the kids, Jack came in the French doors behind me. He took his shoes off and set them nicely by the side of the doors and stepped in, taking off his jacket and throwing it over a chair at the table. It was obvious he had been out working for a while by the looks of his clothes and muddy boots.  
  
"Morning." He grinned at me. His smile reminded me of Soda, and made my heart ache.  
  
"Morning, Mr. Briggs." I said when I swallowed my mouthful of food.  
  
"Please, its Jack." He walked over to the oven and pulled out a hot plate of food, then shut it off and came to sit his plate down in the seat next to me on the table. He started walking away again, back into the kitchen.  
  
"I see Melanie got to you already, Sshe's amazing, how she takes care of the kids and everything else at the same time. Hey, do you want something to drink? Coffee, milk, water?"  
  
He looked up to me after pouring himself a mug of coffee.  
  
"Sure...Milk is good." I said.  
  
He got out a glass and brought me the milk, "So how did you sleep? The kids didn't wake you up did they?"  
  
"Nah. I slept just great."  
  
Jack nodded, pleased at my lie, that he obviously bought. Was it only Darry and Soda and the gang that I couldn't lie to? I was sure hoping so. That could be really nice.  
  
We ate in silence then, that is until Melanie came back into the kitchen about ten minutes later.  
  
"Whats the plan for today, babe?" Jack asked before he took a bite of his biscuits.  
  
"Well, I need to take Ponyboy into town to get some new clothes and you should show he around. Preston is going to a birthday party over at the Ritten's place in a few hours and I told Hannah that I would bake my famous funnel cake to take to the miles social tonight."  
  
"That's great, honey. You going to make an extra cake for us? Pony has to try it."  
  
I gave him a weird look, "Its really good," he said to me.  
  
"If there is any left I will bring it home."  
  
Jack playfully glared at her. "Well, I guess that means you are taking Kaytee so that we men can have a good time here at the house."  
  
She laughed at him, "I don't think so."  
  
He smirked back, "I do. We boys have a lot to...catch up on." He looked my way, giving her a hint.  
  
"We'll see." She grinned at Jacks antics. They seemed so fit together, it was amazing to me. I tried to imagine Darry being like that with anyone, but couldn't to save my life. Darry was too hard to do that, but all the same, I sure missed him and Soda. It had only been a night.  
  
Melanie left the room, and Jack turned to me, "So, baking isn't my kind of thing, I assume you agree?"  
  
I shrugged. I really didn't mind it much, it was better than cleaning. Besides, there was always a treat for your work, "That depends on the alternative." I replied, grinning despite myself.  
  
"Well, how does a tour of the place sound? We can ride the horses, and show you around."  
  
I nodded my head, "Id say that's better than baking." I took my last bite and Jack showed me what they did with the dishes when they were dirty. He said Melanie insisted that the dishes be rinsed and staked nicely by the sink. She did dishes with the kids and him every night after dinner.  
  
Then we went on the "tour" of the ranch and dude ranch. It was fun. It was ten times larger than I had originally thought, even from looking out the windows. It was amazing and beautiful. Really, I loved it. I just wished the whole time that Soda was there with me. He would be in heaven at the Briggs' ranch. I felt bad that he would soon be on a train to go do rigorous training and then off to the wild jungles of heat in the eastern hemisphere of the globe. It wasn't fair, not to send Soda; he couldn't kill anyone, he couldn't. 


	7. Little Shop of Horrors

A/n: Long time no see! Hi everyone! How are you all? Hope everyone is good. I'm sorry this is such a belated chapter. Many things have kept me occupied otherwise, and yeah... but now you've got it! I hope you guys like it too.

**Disclaimer:** We don't own anyone but the Briggs. The setting and plot is ours too.

**Dedication:** This is to all y'all who have hung in there and are still reading this! And to Rock who is having a hard time and got me motivated to write this. And to Sepi, who will never read it, but deserves it above everyone else right now. God bless her.

Enjoy!

Chapter Seven: Little Shop of Horrors

I've never seen so many brand new, crisp jeans in my life. Blue, white, black, green, even red bootlegged pants dangled off hangers on little metal racks. There were rounds and rounds of them, and the room never ended. On the walls hung every hickish shirt, in all colors imaginable. They splashed the place, looking like an attempted tidy tye-dye job gone horribly wrong. Clothes screamed to be plucked off the shelves and tried on. Even more so, the price tags made them beg to be taken home.

I didn't want anything to do with it.

It was epitome of Socdom. It was in fact the only Soc store I'd ever been to, but that's because it was unnatural for a grease to even have the desire to go in one. Soda went in one once, with a couple buddies of his.... They picked one of every piece of clothing, divided them up amongst themselves, and attempted to buy them -- then "realized" that they were out of cash. When the cashier asked if they wanted them have them be put on hold, they declined, but asked if they could put a broken pencil and a piece of bubble gum on hold instead. Needless to say security was called and they ran for it. Never got caught in the shopping mall, but got a good lecture from Darry when security called, after tracking down the license plate number to a phone number... no charges were pressed, but Soda sure felt stupid after that one.

"Oh, look at this, Ponyboy!" Melanie picked out a cadet blue cowboy shirt. It even had the tubed lining on the chest and brass cufflinks. "This would look absolutely stunning on you!" She held it up to my chest and grinned broadly. "This is definitely going in the cart."

I smiled a forced little toothy grin and sighed when she turned away. This was NOT my thing.

Peering into the cart I noticed the price tag that read '$25.' My jaw nearly dropped. That's more than I've spent on ten shirts collectively. And they were even NEW shirts that that.

"Um... Mrs. Briggs?"

"Melanie, dear. I'm not Jack's mother," she chuckled while scanning the aisle for another shirt or something like that.

"Right... Um... I don't think I can buy that shirt."

"Why not? Is it the wrong size?" She picked it up again and looked at the tag. "Should we get another one to try on, too?"

"No... um... It's just... That's a lot of money. I can't buy that." I could feel my face flush bright red and hated myself for doing that. I knew she didn't expect me to buy those with my own money, but I couldn't let a stranger buy me such expensive things...especially when I wouldn't ever wear them.

"Don't be ridiculous." She smiled softly. "You're worth every cent of this shirt, and I don't care if you like it or not. You're still getting it." It was as if she expected me to think it was an act of motherly duty, while playful kidding. I hope I'd get used to it. But in the meantime I think I could deal. She was too nice. I swear that smile never left her face. It was a wonder her wrinkles weren't like a grandmother's. I hoped they never would be. Such a kind lady shouldn't have to deal with deep wrinkle lines...

I gave her my best grin, which came out lopsided, and followed her slowly behind the shopping cart. It was already piled with red, green, brown, and now blue shirts. Pants were our next stop. I thought my pants were just fine, despite the holes and rips. That's how I liked them. Sure they weren't suitable for a private school, but that didn't matter when all I was going to wear there were my uniforms. For around the ranch, I figured what I had were good. But, I guess Jack and Melanie thought differently. Joe would certainly taunt me if he saw me wearing what _I_ thought was cool. That kid didn't like me. I could tell already.

"Oh, wow." Melanie picked up some dark blue bootlegged pants. "Now, aren't those just adorable?"

Adorable? Try Sociable.

"Yeah. They're nice."

Gasping pleased, she chirped, "You should try them on, too! Oh, I know you'll just look fantastic in them."

Right. Fantastic according to whom? I'd die if Steve or Two-Bit, or even Soda saw me wearing those. They were so...nice. I was beginning to dread the high-water section of the store. I liked my ankels hidden, thank you very much. And slacks weren't so much my thing. I preferred the comfort of worn jeans.

---

Two hours later and not a sign of leaving the store. Melanie was in her glory. There was nothing that made her happier than making me try on an outfit of her liking, doing a forced little spin; and clapping excitedly, cooing things like, "Oh, Ponyboy, you're such a handsome young man... This is just your thing... Oh I can't wait for Jack to see you in these. He'll just love them... You look so stunning... Wow, I love how those pants bring out the green in your eyes!"

That's where I drew the line. Green eyes... I refused to get those pants. I laid them in a neat pile in the back of the dressing room and left them there, unnoticed by Melanie.

The others were...actually not that bad. I mean, for a Soc. I always wondered what it would be like to wear their clothes... Now I know. And, truthfully, I don't know how I feel about it. It was almost exhilarating to wear clothes that cost more than my entire lifetime's worth of wardrobes combined, and at the same time I knew I was betraying everything I came from. My friends, my family, my neighborhood. I wouldn't sellout for this lifestyle. It was just too... not me. Maybe in a few years ago, when it was on my own account, my own money, and my own choice, but not now when none of that was mine.

"Don't you just love that suit?" Melanie sighed as she placed it on the sales counter. "It's so perfect and sharp on you... oh, you and Joe will look so handsome at the party tomorrow night, with your matching suits and all."

I frozen in my spot. Party? Matching suits? Joe?

"There's a party tomorrow night?" I asked, as innocently as I could, mustering it up so I wouldn't sound like I was scared out of my mind. Forget about my fears of Joe lighting this expensive suit on fire, for being identical to his -- I don't know what I thought about a party.

"Didn't I tell you? I could've sworn we discussed this already." She heaved the thick pile of shirts, that I'd still never wear, on the counter and let the short girl with these four weird braided pigtails ring them up. "We have a party every other Friday night for the guests at the Ranch. It's their end of the vacation square dance, hoe down, shindig, whatever you want to call it. They get to show off everything they've learned how to do, like bull riding, line dancing, all that stuff. There'll be a big dinner too. We like for the family and staff to dress up and we'd like you to do that as well, if you don't mind."

"Oh...okay. Sure..." I don't remember hearing about this, but I guess it wasn't such a bad thing, although I refused to do any line dancing. Just because I was expected to live on a Dude Ranch with a family of the nicest rednecks I've ever met, doesn't mean I'm gonna convert to their ways. "Is Joe gonna mind though? If I have the same suit as him?"

"Oh, that boy is so oblivious to these things, he wouldn't even notice." She shook her head with an air of disapproval on his part. "Don't you worry about him. He might come across rough, but he's as gentle as a baby lamb. You should see him with the kids. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Don't let him intimidate you. He's a good kid."

Right. We'd see about that. I already couldn't touch his horse, Diablo, without worrying that he'll lop my head off with a whip. Watch -- next if I step into his room he'll elbow me in the gut and throw me across the hall.

"Really," she pressed, seeing the concern in my eyes. "I'll talk to him if you're worried about it."

"No!" I said, almost a little too quickly. "I'm not worried. I'm just being paranoid. I'm... I uhm... I'm just not used to this. Sorry."

"Oh, sweetie..." She stopped, ignoring the cashier who was now waiting for money or a card or something for her to pay with. "Don't worry. I'm sorr, too. I know this is rough. I'm sure it has to be hard being down here. I wish there was something I could do. Make things different. Make it so you could be with your brothers... But I can't. I can only give you what I have."

And now I made her feel guilty. What a day this was going to be.

---

"Give me the mustard." A hand was held ubruptly in front of me as I stood at the kitchen counter, timidly making myself a turkey sandwich for an "after school snack," even though I didn't go to school today.

Without saying anything back, I slid the jar to Joe who was generously applying layer upon layer of turkey, tomato, and lettuce to his sandwich. He took the knife out of my hand and scooped up a rather large helping out of the jar, smearing it across his bread, sprinkled with pepper and salt. It disgusted me the way he made that thing.

I looked down at my pathetic snack. It consisted of a single slice of honey smoked turkey, one tomato slice, a bit of lettuce, and a little mustard. Perhaps I wasn't comfortable enough to eat like Joe... then again, perhaps he was just a pig with no regard for his family's budget. Either way I was content sticking to what I had. I picked up my plate and sat down at the table.

"You know you don't live in the hood anymore," Joe commented, while finding a Coke in the fridge.

I didn't say anything. I wasn't exactly sure where he was going with this.

"You CAN eat all you want. You aren't going to starve here. You ain't poor anymore." He slammed the door shut and spun on his heal to get a glass out of the cupboard. "For now anyway. When you go home... well..."

"I was just fine before," I snapped softly. "I never starved."

He just cocked an eyebrow and sat down across from me. "All right. Well, you can eat more than that, I'm just letting you know." He was trying to act offended... I think. I had no idea how to react to him. "My uncle's got more money than he knows what to do with. You ain't gonna run down the food supply. Shoot, you could take out a thou from his account, and he wouldn't even know it."

"Really?" I asked skeptically. He had to be full of it. Ain't no rich man that dumb.

"Yup. Done it before." He was so nonchalant about it, I wasn't sure if I believed him or not.

"Yeah right." I started to woof down my food, hungry from the long day. Who knew that shopping could be so tedious? Man, if I had Two-Bit here, we would've had a blast trying to sneak all the junk out. But, instead Melanie, against my will, paid well over three hundred dollars in clothes that I doubt I'll wear unless forced.

"Hey, man. I ain't shitting you." He held his hands up in defense. "I'll show you sometime if ya want."

What was I supposed to say to that? He wanted me to come on an escapade to steal money from my foster father, one day into my arrival? I don't think so... That sounded like the worst possible plan he could come up with... and I don't even know him yet.

"Maybe..." I wasn't gonna say no. I didn't want to lose the one potential friend I had, nor did I want to side with the potential enemy; but I wasn't going to agree. I wasn't going to do _anything_, until I knew for sure.

"Well, whatever. It's up to you. But I'm just saying it doesn't matter and it goes unnoticed. Anyway..." He shoved the rest of his partially eaten sandwich in his mouth. "Whe...yooof...staut...skoo?"

"When do I start school?" I repeated, just to made sure I understood him.

"Fa...wha...ah...seh..." He gulped his food harshly. "You deaf or what?"

"Um... on Monday I think." I didn't bother with the second half of that statement, feeling stupid enough already that he thought he was cooler than me and acted like it too.

"Cool 'nough." He brushed the crumbs off his hands, sprinkling them on the clean table top. "Jack say's I'm showing you the ropes of the place."

"Oh... Good." That was a relief -- to know that SOMEONE was.

"I guess." He shrugged, seemingly not too thrilled by the idea. He sighed exasperated, trying to win me over with sympathy. "Got nothing else better to do. He tells me I skip school again and he'll kick my ass, so I guess I gotta listen..."

That was by far the most unconvincing thing I've ever heard. And I would know. I've tried to use tell people one thing, when I meant another, and I'm sure I'd know what it sounds like to be a recepiant.

Joe pushed his chair back and reached into his pockets, feeling around for something. He apparently found it, because he looked satisfied, pulled out a set of keys, and said, "I'm going into town to meet up with some buddies. You wanna come?"

---

Coming from town to Fisk had been a half an hour trip...but to get back to town, Joe made it a point to get there in ten minutes or less. He drove like the devil was on his tail and I was holding onto the edge of my seat with a grip like I was dangling from a cliff. I don't think he noticed, but even if he had, he didn't seem to care. He was enjoying it.

"It bugs the hell out of me when Mel and Jack take this road like it's a neighborhood. It's not like there's anyone else around..." He smiled bitterly.

The way he talked about them, I wasn't so sure he liked them. But, at the same time it sounded like he respected them highly. I didn't get it. Either you liked someone and respected them....or you didn't. Right?

"Hey, can I ask ya somethin'?"

"What?" he gritted while taking a sharp turn on two wheels.

"Do you like living with the Briggs?" They seemed cool enough, I just wanted an insider's point of view.

"They're all right." He shrugged, like it wasn't much of anything. "They're better than my father, that's for sure. I'd rather live in luxury with sweetness and rules up every alley than in a dump with a drunk who thinks beating on his son is a sport."

"Oh..." I felt bad for having brought it up. It struck me hard and painful, with memories of Johnny. Damn, I missed him... Two years later, and I still didn't have a new best friend. Johnny just wasn't someone you could replace. Not only that, but I didn't know how much it hurt Joe to talk about it. He came across being relaxed and uncaring, but so do a lot of people. It was like being at home still -- needing to figure out what's beneath the thick aloofness.

"They felt bad for you," he continued, sounding a little more pitiful that I would've preferred. "Guess they thought they were doing something good by bringing you here."

"Like what?"

"Like they think you'll 'keep me out of trouble' and 'be a good example' for me." He took a turn off that led to the town. I didn't recognize it in the daylight. Then again, I didn't really recognize anything here yet. "But, I'm telling ya kid," -- kid? Hell, we were the same age -- "I'll do whatever the hell I feel like. You can be my friend, or not, but you'd better not try and move in on my space. I've got a rep to keep up."

"Hey, I ain't got no intentions of nothing," I defended myself. "It's not like it was my choice to come here. If I had my way, I'd just live at home by myself or with a buddy's family or somethin', but the state don't give a shit what you want, so they do what _they _want. They thought Jack and Melanie were good for me, I ain't got no other choice in the matter than to come here. Don't you go thinkin' I WANTED to be a Soc..."

"What the fuck is a Soc?" He took a rough hill and we bounced over it like a racket ball, me holding onto the dash board, afraid we'd flip over and tumble down the hill.

"...Y-- Y-- You know," I stuttered, trying to talk and breathe at the same time, "like the richest of the rich kids."

"Well, man, you came to the wrong place."

Just as he said that, a few buildings started to come into sight. The first one we came to looked like a little pub saloon sort of thing, except it had several teenage kids standing around outside, and I knew it was no strip club from that. To think that I'd been in and out of one city, several times, in a matter of hours. At least this time wasn't for clothes shopping.

Joe made a sharp forty-five degree turn and parked in next to a couple of motorbikes and hideous trucks, that actually reminded me of my own back at home... I'd later learn that those bikes and trucks belonged to the guys standing outside the doors which turned out to be...

"Those are my friends. Act tough and they ain't gonna touch ya," Joe whispered, while smiling towards his friends, that _hi-I'm-here_ sort of way. "Be a pansy and you won't stand a chance."

Me a pansy? This boy had SO much to learn...

---

Review Responses!

Skye Renegarde: Thanks. We had lots of fun! Still are, not to fret. - Rock

- Thanks a lot! Hope you're still around to read! - Kiks

Sodapop02: Thanks. I guess you'll have to keep reading to see if its happy or not. But thanks for the comments! - Rock

- Yeah, it can be tough, as I've seen. Can't exactly promise it won't be sad, but everything will be all right in the end. Thanks for reading! - Kiks

MissLKid: Thanks. We aren't mean by nature, don't worry too much there. Wow, Chicago huh? Never been there. But I'm a city girl myself. Well, anyhow, glad you are enjoying it. - Rock

- Yeah, we're city girls, but I grew up around the farm/ranch type of places because of my grandparents. I love those types of places SO much. Much of this little town is based off of my secret little town here. Thanks for reading and enjoying! - Kiks

Amygirl: Well here is your update, late but here. Thanks for the complements. And next chapter will be an update on Soda and Darry, Occasionally we will do that. But most the time we wont tell you when. - Rock

- Yeah, what Rock said... Just wait. She'll be writing those parts, for the most part, I think. She knows a lot of what she's talking about. Thanks for reading! - Kiks

Tensleep: HAHA. Bows, Thank you, Thank you. Jk. I hope we make your day again! LOL. And tell Jhon I will CONSIDER his ideas…in the future possibly. But we cant kill him off. I mean, he IS the story. Sorry. Anyhow, have fun! - Rock

- Ah, I remember that review... Lol. And the whole Muppets From Space phase... you two make me laugh. And I agree with Alli... Can't kill Pon, but we can hurt him. Ponybrat, as you two so well put it, won't enjoy is stay all the time, that's for sure. Thanks for reading you two. It really means a lot to us, for reals. I hope you like this...even though I think you've already read most of it, Tens, lol. - Kiks

Oblivious Misconception: I love it when we get a readers mind turning. So, for that reason, I cant tell you much. But keep reading and everything will come out of the woodwork. Hope you enjoy! And thanks! - Rock

- Nice observation, Oblivious! (That's what we call you, hehe, even though it's the exact opposite of true). Yeah, we've got an idea in mind of how Ponyboy will take this life style of the rich... But, we'll see. Things can always change. The story writes itself. Just because we plan one thing doesn't mean it'll stay that way. Thanks for reading! - Kiks

Tessie: Yeah, that was the appeal for us too, How would Pony deal? So we did it. Well, I'm glad that you find it intriguing. And next chapter will show Darry and Soda. We will do that every once in a while, although I wont normally tell you when. Enjoy and thanks! - Rock

- Thanks! (For both this and Against the Fates, which I wrote, hehe). Yeah, those bongs are pretty tight, and we hate to break them apart for the time being... but it's also SO much fun :D Thanks for reading! - Kiks

ShyXshortieXbabe: Nah, not too late. No worries. Anyway, yes, they are a very cute couple, designed that way for a reason as Oblivious Misconception pointed out. So I hope you enjoy the next chapters! - Rock

- You think your review was late? Lol. Nah, you're just fine. Besides... you see how long it took me to write this dang thing? I was bugged for MONTHS by Rock and other people... Finally I got two things pumped out (this and another story) and yeah.. I really hope you like it! Thanks for reading! - Kiks

sodipop5: You did sound German, but not now. Glad you like it! You are worthy. Read anytime! - Rock

- I'm so out of the loop, lol. But I agree with Rock. You aren't unworthy, no worries there. I hope you enjoyed! - Kiks

me: Wish I knew who this was... I have an idea, but then again, I don't... I'm glad you're reading though! Thanks! - Kiks

patly: New comer? Thanks for reading! Here's more! - Kiks

tya: Fun name you've got goin' on there. Thanks for reading! - Kiks

---

A/n: Well, that's it for now. I really do hope you guys liked it. Much fun is planned for the next few chapters. Until then... see you around!

Kiks, A.K.A.: Keira


	8. A New Kind of Fear

Authors Note: Please note, that when new recruits go to boot camp, very little is allowed with them. They are pr vided all essentials when they arrive, so they take nothing with them. I think that covers it.

Darry's POV

The morning air was brisk on my skin as I ran out to the truck. I threw orders into the glove box , grabbed my keys from my pocket and left them in the ignition so I didn't forget them in our hurry. We had to leave in a few minutes, preferably seconds, anyway.

I ran back into the house, grabbing a piece of toast and calling out to Soda. He was going to make us late, which would be VERY bad in this situation.

"Soda, hurry your ass up! You don't want to be late for this! Where's your paper's? Ill put them in the truck so we don't forget them. You have two minutes, max." I called out to him between bites of food. I had gotten up extra early that day to tie up any loose ends before leaving for who knew how long. I had gotten Mrs. Matthews to take the truck and watch the house for us. I wanted it to be intact when we got back from the war. She would do things to make it look lived in at least.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Dar! Im hurrying, really. I cant find my damn papers! God, oh god." He mumbled the last part, but by that time, I was in his room, watching him frantically look through his drawers, throwing out clothes randomly.

I looked at the top of the dresser, seeing them sitting in plain view, "Soda, did you look on the top ever?" I reached out and picked them up waving them in front of his face, chiding him a bit further. "Buddy, you're loosing it, for real this time." I laughed then looked around the room, "Im sure that Mrs. Matthews will love this room." I grinned.

"She will." Soda blushed at himself.

"Well, lets get a move on then."

I walked out of the room, Soda on my heels. I went into the kitchen and unplugged all the appliances, coffee maker, toaster, etc. Then I turned out the light and walked out. We stood in the living room for a minute, taking it in before we left for who knew how long. It sounds cheesy and stupid, I know, but it felt sad to leave, not knowing how long it would be before you saw home again. It was nerve racking in a way.

We walked out the door soon after, and I pulled out my spare house key that was to go to Mrs. Matthews with the truck and was about to lock the door when I heard Soda's again panicked voice.

"Wait!"

I looked at him strangely. I had never seen him like that before. I had heard his panicked nerves voice more that morning than I had in a long time.

"I, I forgot something." He said quieter, like he was embarrassed.

"Well, go get it, I suppose. But hurry!" I called after him, as he was already in the house by then. I wondered what he had forgotten; bet decided to ask when we were finally on our way.

He was back out in a few seconds and I locked up. We hopped in the truck, on our way. I felt better then, we would make it in time unless there was a huge backup.

"Soda, what ya forget?"

He looked down, and I followed his gaze, glancing at his hands. There, in his grip was a small black and white of our old family. Parents, Pony, even the gang, posed happily. Those were the good times. Now I didn't blame him for his momentary panick. I had my own; this was the time to hold on to those cherished times, for war and nothing but it was at hand.

I sighed. I didn't want to think about that right then, but I figured there would be times when that would be the only thing to hold on to. And we both had to come back for Pony's sake. He couldn't lose another one of us.

It was a short ten minute drive to our destination; a bus station downtown. It was crowded, families streamed in, one empty handed young man with each, siblings crying and mothers cooing. I pulled the truck into the parking lot and shut it off. I was trying to find Mrs. Matthews. She was going to be there. Two-Bit was leaving that day too. They had one day a month where most the draftees left on military buses. I guess with gas prices it was cheaper in bulk. I doubted any of us would go to the same place. But who knew?

Finally I spotted Steve, Two-Bit ordinarily standing next to him, and then the plump women next to him. I smiled and we pushed through the crowds to them.

"Hey, funny ass!" Soda called, chiding him for laughing at yet another thing. I guess it was time to get all the chiding, insults, jokes and buddy-buddy stuff out of our system.

Two-Bit only laughed harder at it, and we all smirked. He was high on something, slightly drunk, or so nervous that he didn't know what else to do but laugh. I worried for a second over him getting kicked in the ass at boot camp, but let it go quickly. If anyone could deal with it, Two-Bit would live it out fine. He could save the party for the weekends. If anything, maybe he needed this; he would learn some responsibility.

"Darrel!" Mrs. Matthews smiled up to me from her small stature and reached out for a hug. I grinned and gave her a hug.

"Hi, Mrs. Matthews. Thanks for being here."

"Well, of course." She fumbled a little at fixing her dress, and shot a glance at Two-Bit. I knew she was devastated to send him away. He might not have been the most help, but he was her only son. She cleared her throat after a time, "The house. What about the house, Darrel?"

"Oh…a…" I pulled my key ring out of my jeans pocket and handed them to her, "The ice-box is cleaned out, everything unplugged, and all but water and electricity are going to be shut off by the end of the week. If you will just grab the mail and make it look like its at least lived in half the time, that would be great. You can use it if you need to. I will send you the information to take care of the billing when I know it. And that's about it." I shrugged.

She smiled warmly, "You are a great young man, Darrel. I'll make sure your house is taken care of so you can come back for these kids." She laughed as Soda pushed Two-Bit aside and Steve howled at their antics.

I shook my head. The days of playing were over. I missed mine, but I found joy in theirs. That would be gone once we split up today. War wasn't a game, and things would never be the same. It saddened me to think, but I was ready to get the charade over with.

A loud speaker took over then, and the boys sobered up. That was the last of it.

"Men! You now have Five minutes to say good bye! Do it well, this may be the only thing to get you through the next three months of grueling training. Five minutes till you report to your designated areas! FIVE minutes!"

The silence that replaced the venomous words of the man hung in the air. Then the bustle slowly started up again. This time it wasn't friendly talk and laughing though, this time it was sighing, sobbing, and serious talk of the future.

Steve pulled out a smoke and lit up, Soda sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, I stood silent, and Two-Bit broke the tension.

"So, where y'all off to then?" he asked, trying to grin.

"Benning." Steve spoke up.

"Knox." Soda stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Two-Bit looked at me, "Benning. You?" I asked.

"Knox. I guess we all have buddies then." Two-Bit grinned. It was just like him to look on the bright side of things.

"Don't expect to stay too close, Two-Bit. It'll get you on their bad side." I warned.

He shrugged, looking down at the ground.

"Well, I guess this is it." Soda stepped up and pulled Steve into a hug.

I turned to Two-Bit, "Ol' Buddy, Ol' Pal." He grinned and laughed, as he came over and patted me on the back. I squeezed his shoulder, knowing that might be the last time I saw him, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Two-Bit."

He chuckled, "Yeah…right. Same goes for you."

Then we said our good byes to everyone else, Steve came over and faked a punch at me while Two-Bit and Soda had their moment. Then Mrs. Matthews came in with the all fire hugs, kissing each of us on the cheek, tears running down her face, "Be good boys! Be careful and come back to me in one piece!" She cried over and over. I guess I couldn't blame her. She sobbed when she hugged her son, not wanting to let go of him when he thought it should be done.

While she hugged and sobbed over Two-Bit, I turned to Soda, knowing I had to say goodbye to him also. I really couldn't imagine life without his smile and care free attitude around to make me lighten up some. I couldn't imagine how things would be in a world without him. He was my brother, my friend, and I prayed to god he would come back unharmed, and untouched. If the war took away so much as a teaspoon of sugar from his countenance…I sighed. Things would never be the same.

"Darry…" Soda trailed off. He came over and hugged me tight. I pulled him tight and thought about the last time we hugged like that. The night after Pony left, both of us lost in our worlds from such a change.

"Soda…be careful, ya hear?" I swallowed hard, shaking him a little by the shoulders. He grinned that contagious grin of his, letting it spread onto mine.

"Yeah, so long as you do too, Dar. Pony'll be waiting for us."

I nodded, ready to punch him lightly, the way we always did, but didn't get the chance.

"Buses, NOW! You are soldiers, and you have been ordered to report to your busses! Get your asses a'movin'!" Men pushed around us and towards a vehicle that would take them to their doom. I sighed and waved goodbye, watching my brothers smile fade from my view in a crowd of colored protein strands.

No Review alerts today…next time we will cover all of them. But I am at a lack of time this week. And sorry its shorter than normal, but its an update.


	9. How the West was Run, or, uh, Won

**A/n:** Hi everyone. This is Kiks with an update after... who knows how long. A little over eight months according to the Updated status. Anyway, hope people are still around who enjoyed this story back in it's prime. In any case, I know there are several people who will be happy to see it updated. This chapter has been accumulating dust over the last six months or so, and was only recently picked back up again. It's been worked and reworked over several times, so forgive me if it's still a bit choppy. My skills have been put on haitus for a while now and I've just begun to pull it out of hiding little by little. It's been a hard year for writing, but I'm hoping that I'll get back into the swing of it soon. Now, onto other matters, I know Rock will be a little shocked to see this.She's on a mini-vacation at the moment and doesn't know I'm doing this. She has of course read the extremely rough draft of it, but she was waiting to do the RR's _(which you will find none of, sadly enough. Though, I highly admire Tensleep for her audacity to continue to do them, I'm afraid Rock is bored with the idea of them as it is, so I myself won't be putting forth much effort on the individual responses. However, if you leave a signed review, I'll get back to you with a little thank you :) )_ until I had become satisfied enough with my personal tweaking of the chapter to post. But since she's gone, I'll just do it myself, lol.

**Dedication:** To Tens who has nudged me in this direction ever-so subtly for as long as I went on haitus. She was having a bit of a rough day today, and hinted that she'd like to see this, so I'm posting it for her. I hope you like it :)

**Disclaimer:** Oddly enough, I don't remember if we have to do this every chapter or not. But just in case... Rock and I own everyone aside from the original characters. 'Nough said.

Enjoy!

_Chapter Nine: How the West was Run... Er... Won_

(Pony's POV)

"Where you from again?"

"Uh, Tulsa."

I couldn't hear myself think in this circle of grizzlies. They all looked so tall and barbaric… Their B.O. was overpowering my sight.

"_Tulsa_. You hear that boys? Say it again, kid."

"Why?"

"I wanna hear your accent. Say it again." He jostled my shoulder.

Who the hell was he trying to kid? If _I_ had an accent, he had by far the worst drawl I've ever come across. He reminded me of those commercials for timeshares in the Guadalupe Mountains. A slow talking cowboy who couldn't hardly annunciate his vowels enough to let the country know what he was trying to sell. I had much more on this wiseass. So much more.

However, years of living on the East Side provided me with enough experience to know that relaying my insight to him wouldn't feel as good to my bones as I might hope for. He looked a good six feet tall and had the weight of a pro-wrestler gone to seed. Aside from sharing the common stench of the others, he wore a strong coating of English Leather that seemed to be imbedded in his clothing. Nothing was by far worse than heavy cologne on top of disdaining body odor. I would've preferred the odor over that any day. Then there was his teeth – striking white teeth peering through pursed lips on sunburned skin. He looked as painful as he must've felt.

"Tulsa." I grinned impishly and plucked his thick fingers off my person. "So, don't touch me. Hear?"

The kid cracked a grin and clapped me on the back. "This is my kind of guy, Joe. You've got good pickin's. I think we'll have a right ol' good time with him."

We shared a decrepit smile... Yeah.

Sure, I could deal with some new friends. And I hoped to God that's what he meant. I didn't intend to walk away from this place without any. If I was going to be stuck here for this long, I was going to make it worth my time and try to enjoy it. If that meant being friends with Joe and his pals, maybe that was the way to go. Although, my immediate impressions of these goonies weren't exactly splendid, but who was I to make that call? Perhaps their shoving and teasing little boys in the parking lot was meant in a friendly manner... If it was, I'm not so sure those kids were up on the joke. I ain't never seen feet carry someone that fast. So, yeah, you go ahead and have a great time with me, Buddy. But if you pick and prod at my weaknesses until I snap and come falling down like a torpedo on a target point, I'll grant you with a reality check that'll bounce big time.

"Yeah, I know. You can thank Jack and Mel later." Joe grabbed my shirt by the shoulder and pulled me closer to him, his arm draping over my shoulders. He leaned back against a wooden pole marking a parking spot in the dirt lot. "Pon, this is Wes,"— he indicated the blond gorilla who'd been talking to me – "Jesse, Travis, and Mitch."

I nodded to each in turn. "Nice to meet ya." What else was there to say? I'm sorry you smell like cow shit and look like you've been burning alive in hell the last week? Oh, and by the way, don't feel obligated to like me because I won't be here all that long anyway?

Jesse and Travis were brothers. Even without being told, I knew. They looked too much alike to not. Jesse had black hair – thick, shiny, and combed back in half-hardy waves. He distinctly reminded me of someone dressed in an Elvis get-up at a costume party. His bold features and lean stature gave me the strong impression that he and Joe were neck in neck when it came to being the lead man with the ladies. And he looked like he was ready to knock anything flat if it crossed him wrong. He hadn't said much yet, but I knew he was playing it cool.

Travis, on the other hand – though he looked nearly identical to Jesse with the same hair color and features – wasn't considerably as well groomed. His hair dropped in greasy strands around his eyes and ears, and multi-toned spotted stubble smeared across his jaw blending into his long side burns. He reminded my of myself back in Windrixville -- filthy and unhygienic -- only on purpose instead. I shuddered to think someone would actually choose to be that way. Why was _he_ in with Joe? He looked like he'd be more comfortable in a pigpen. Joe didn't appear to be impressed with trash, so what made Travis so special?

But even as I met Joe's friends and considered the possibility of getting to know them, I couldn't stop staring at the little landmarks around us. I had never been anywhere like this before. Not even Windrixville was like this. When Joe said we were going into town I was expecting something more along the lines of the city. But I guess when you come from hickville you really mean it when you call it a town. I don't think I'd be so generous in calling it that. Resembling a dwelling from some wild west fiction, Fisk only consisted of a gas station with one pump, a little convience store, and a tiny post office that received mail once a week. They had a diner named Benny's Burgers, which was where we had found ourselves. It was the lone hangout of the place and it appealed to most everyone. There was twangy music reverberating out of the open doors and a couple of show girls walking around waitressing grungy men. Not surprisingly there weren't too many women and children in there, though it didn't appear to hold an age restriction.

"And that –" Joe started, and I turned to see what he was looking at – he smiled as one of the showgirl waitresses, clad in high heeled pink boots, a low cut shirt, and a skirt that could've easily belonged to Angela Shepard, spotted us and swaggered out of Benny's, "– is Darla."

"Is she your…?" I questioned, figuring he'd know very well what I was getting at.

"Hell no," he whispered. "Ain't no guy ever gonna get her tied down. And you ain't gonna try either, ya hear?"

"I ain't deaf," I muttered and shrugged away as he released me. Speaking of trash...

"Joe!" she called while bounding over. "Who's this you're bringin' around here?"

"C'mon, Dar. Don't you remember me tellin' you 'bout my foster brother?" He smiled sheepishly and it was clear he had it bad for her. He greeted her with a hug that none of the others seemed interested in giving her and swung his other arm over her shoulders when he was done.

"Ohhh," she grinned. "Is this him?"

She winked at me.

No one noticed.

"Yeah, this is him. Name's Ponyboy Curtis."

The brunette beanpole Mitch, if I remember correctly, sniggered and whispered something in Wes's ear. The pair of them laughed and I knew exactly what it was over, and it was rather un-amusing. Creativity and regard seemed null to these lackluster wannabe's.

"Nice to meet you." She leaned forward and shook my hand, making it very clear to me what Joe lusted after. That pig.

"You too." I smiled. At least someone was treating me human. She didn't even giggle or crack a wider grin at my name. Maybe that was another reason he liked her. She already struck me as genuinely nice. But I doubted it. His mind was on other aspects she possessed, along with his wandering eyes.

Joe cleared his throat and tore his eyes away. "Y'all up for a burger?" He brushed Darla's blond bangs out of her eyes. "Or a bobby pin?"

"Very funny, Joe," she sneered.

He laughed and waited for another response from the rest of us. "Pony? You up for some Benny's Burgers and pool? It's on me."

"Yeah. Sounds good." I shrugged. I wasn't going to turn it down. It sounded pretty dang good right then. I was starved.

---

"No… Not like that," Joe crooned. "Like this."

Sliding in next to Darla he adjusted the pool cue and placed his hands over hers. He was pretty close for being strictly her friend, and he was beginning to remind me a bit of Steve when he did that. Steve always had a sly way of moving in on girls. He once joked that maybe some day I would learn from his tricks, and I had laughed at him. Mocked him, in fact...

The thought made my stomach churn uneasily for the umpteenth time that day. Steve... Two-Bit. I wondered how they were and if they had made it to boot camp alright, and how it was treating them. They would fair well, I knew it, but at the same time I was scared for them. They were reluctantly being shipped off to a humid jungle where people died every day. They would be watching their fellow soldiers die at their sides, and they didn't need that. Having already witnessed a friend of theirs die, they didn't need to experience that again. They didn't deserve it. It would shatter than. Men return scarred, men from picture perfect lives. If _they _returned scarred, who's to say a bunch of greasers wouldn't? I wished all four were in it together. Maybe they could support one another and make it all right. But hoping doesn't do any good.

"You see how it slides easily? But doesn't go off target?"

"Yeah."

"Now, just aim… and shoot." He gently swayed her arms, causing the white ball to collide with the solid red.

It missed the socket by a far cry.

"Nice one," Jesse scoffed.

"Shut it, asshole." Joe backed up and slid back onto his stool. "Like I'm gonna score for the other team."

You would think those two hated each other with the way they talked. I hadn't heard them say anything decent to one another in the last two hours, but they hadn't been getting any worse. They stuck to the same level of scorn, never varying. I watched half tensed up, just waiting for a fight to break out… then they'd surprise me and start laughing over some insult that no one else got. They were an anomaly unto themselves.

"If the two of ya would shut the fuck up maybe y'all could concentrate better." Wes picked up his pool cue and walked around the other side of the table. He bent over a couple of times and stood back up, measuring his shot. "Watch and learn, pals." He gave a sharp jab at the white ball which hit the striped green, it sank and white then rebounded around to knock the striped yellow into another pocket.

It amazed me that the gorilla, who could barely stand on his two feet, could show up Joe like that. Joe's eyes decreased to a crescent, black sliver, glinting with a hint of fury at being deliberately mocked in front of Darla and the rest. But even as a malevolent smirk crossed Joe's face, Wes laughed and took his seat again. It was my shot now. I was never too bad a player at pool, so I wasn't worried about making a fool of myself. Perhaps being good at their favorite sport would win me some points. I wasn't banking on it, but it couldn't hurt either.

"You sure you can handle the cue, Ponyboy?" Darla asked. "I think I've got the hang of it now if you want some help."

I could feel patches behind my ears growing warm, but I kept a cool face. Joe would slaughter me if I took help from his girl, especially after his ego deflation a moment ago. Maybe not now, but I could imagine him laying into me later. I hate to admit it, but I foresee him with the upper hand throughout the duration of my stay. But not only did he have the talent of causing me to doubt, but right now I wasn't itching for a gang of burly cowboys to come hunting for me. He'd have them sicked on me before I could even come up with an escape plan. No, I figure I'll let Joe play his games and get on his good side. There's no use in playing with fire when you're the fuel.

"The hang of it, huh?" Joe scoffed and nuzzled her lightly, his arms still around her. "You can barely keep the ball on the table."

She laughed, and brushed him off.

I faked a little grin. "No, but thanks, Darla. I think I've got it." I leaned over the table and sized up my options. With a clear shot lined up to the right pocket, I made a direct hit and sunk it.

"Well, waddya know?" Jesse snickered. "Your little friend knows what he's doing. Good work, Ponyboy."

I gave him the pleasure of a tiny half-smile before standing back up against the wall.

My stomach was progressively knotting up more and more as time went on with these guys. And it wasn't all from the prominent hostility. They were being all right and friendly enough, now that a couple of hours had passed, but I was ready to go back to the ranch and dwell a little more in my self-pity. Happy as I was that Joe wanted me to meet his friends, I was ready for a few more friendly faces away from them.

-.-

Some while later I was back in the kitchen at the house. Joe was upstairs where he had some kid laughing. I don't know what it was about him, but those kids got a kick out of him and he liked to play with them. I guess it was better than the alternative, but I would've never guessed. I was sitting at the table, snacking on some chips and leafing through a couple of brochures on Coleman Acadamy that Melanie had picked up for me. It was on their dress code and code of conduct. Pretty much standard, though I figured these guys were serious about sticking to the book. The school I just left... well... the same couldn't be said for them. I didn't mind, though. I had no problem sticking to the rules. It couldn't be that tough.

Melanie was stirring stew on the stove top and kept adding dashes of chili powder ever couple of minutes. Imagine the steam blowing out of my ears after eating that... Yeah, that'll be fun. No, but it really did smell good. I knew she was a good cook from the off, but it never occurred to me that someone could be that great of a cook at all times. It just didn't happen around our parts. But it was something I could definitely get used to.

"So, how are you feeling about school, now?" She turned around a smiled, wiping a bit of beaded steam off her forehead.

"Not bad. It looks like a good school." I shrugged. What else was there to say? It was a private school and I'd be teased for the rest of my life for going to it. But it was a _private school_ and I could easily get into college... "And a good one to put down for colleges."

"Oh they are! Their college enrollment turn out is over ninety percent. Scholarships are a little less than that, but still decent enough. If you have Coleman on your application, you're pretty much accepted to any college, so long as you've got good grades, which I know isn't foreign to you, now is it?" She laughed and added another couple of dashes of that powder to her soup.

"Nope. I do all right." To say anything more really wouldn't do much for my reputation around here. The last thing I wanted was to brag about my school record and grades and appear persnickety. Two-Bit always said I had a tendency to do that whether I was aware of it or not.

"Well, maybe you'll be a good influence on Joe. God knows he needs it..." Muttering to herself she switched the burner to off and moved the pot away.

That's what I was afraid of. Being set up as an example. I didn't want to be anyone's exemplar and I'm sure as hell no one wants to look up to me. Especially not Joe. I had the impression he didn't look to anyone but himself. He had me so confused right now, but I knew well enough that he wasn't someone to contend with. He wasn't the fooling around type and I wasn't itching to experiment to see what it'd take to get him to be.

"Did I hear my name?" Joe sauntered into the kitchen, grabbing a handful of my chips. "Better'a been good, 'cause you know I won't put up with nothin' else." He grinned at Melanie and plopped down into the seat across from me.

"We were just talking about where you guys went this afternoon." She took off her apron and hung it on a hook next to the sink. I smiled weakly at her lie and knew full-well why she had done it, though I didn't expect her to. "Pony says you hung out with the guys and Darla. Says they remind him off the kids in his neighborhood. Now, I hope that's a good thing..."

Kids from my neighborhood? A white lie that wasn't _too _far from the truth; I'd told her that they reminded me of some people I'd met before, that they seemed like they wanted to be the type to fit in IN my neighborhood. But hey, I ain't gonna stop her from lying. She must've known what she was doing, otherwise I don't think she'd have done it to begin with.

Joe's eyes shifted from her to me and back to her. He leaned back and huffed a little, smirking with a little jock nod. "'Course it's good. If they're all as soft as Ponyboy, wha'da'zat tell you? Huh, Pony?"

"Uh huh..."

"Oh, I know you've got yourself some good friends," Melanie laughed. "I'm just teasing you, Joey. Now go wash up so we can eat. You look like you been messing around in the stalls again."

"Yeah, all right." He stood up and wiped salt from my potato chips off the corners of his mouth. "You say it like it's a bad thing..."

"It isn't. Just go do it. You too, Ponyboy. For good measure."

It almost felt like I had a mother again. I can't remember one time that Darry told me to go wash up. He himself didn't mind a little dirt and grit in his food. But it wasn't a bad thing. On the contrary, it was kind of nice.

-.-

**A/n:** I hope you guys liked it! Please review. It's only common curteousy. :) Flame and well... It's a flame. It can kiss my little ass. Lol, jk.

Kiks


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